Height has been linked to long life for many centuries

Height and health: predicting longevity from bone length in archaeological remains 2001; 55:505-507

Click below to download PDF document
You will require Acrobat Reader to view file.
Click here for PDF document

It is now well known that tall people tend to live longer, but has this always been the case? A study of skeletal remains dating back to the 9th century published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health concludes that short bones have always been a marker of a short life, despite disease patterns being quite different today from those in pre-industrial Britain.

A total of 490 sets of adult skeletal remains were analysed from an excavation at a site in the north east of England. The lengths of all available long bones were measured to the nearest millimetre and sex and age at death were calculated using standard anthropological methods.

One hundred and seventy eight (55%) of men and 123 (73%) of women died before the age of 45, and 124 (39%) of men and 94 (56%) of the women died before 30. For all bones examined, the odds of death before the age of 30 decreased as bone length increased, providing evidence that greater long bone length, and by implication height, is associated with longevity. Those with smaller bones tend to die younger, explain the authors.

Despite some inevitable limitations, this analysis suggests that for many centuries taller people have lived longer. The authors conclude that short bones, it would appear, have always been a marker of short life.

Contact:

Dr D Gunnell, Department of Social Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.

Tel: +44 (0)117 928 7253
D.J.Gunnell@Bristol.ac.uk