Men who are short and women who are overweight tend to have the odds stacked against them, says a new study. They are usually not as lucky as their taller and slimmer peers.
But you may ask why all those short - and famous - men, such as Napoleon, Voltaire or Ludwig van Beethoven, scaled great heights. Well, it was certainly more than just talent. Some speculators have felt that those celebrities probably harbored a "paranoid complex" that drove them to work super hard in order to compensate for being a bit overshadowed in life.
Still, the not-so-famous short men and overweight women seem to be given short shrift by nature. Experts examined genetic and socio-economic data drawn from more than 120,000 people aged between 37 to 73 years, who are part of UK Biobank. They found that shorter men tend to have "reduced chances in life" on various parameters, such as their levels of education, income and careers.
Researchers studied 396 genetic variants that identified height, as compared to the real height of the participants. If a man is "genetically predetermined" to be 3 inches shorter than another, then his annual income would be $1,600 less than the other man's, they found. An earlier University of Florida study found that taller people earn more per inch than the shorter ones while the littler males might even harbour jealousy and die due to heart disease.
And regarding women, the height factor does not impact them, but body fat does. University of Exeter genetics professor Timothy Frayling, a co-author of the study, was part of the team that examined 69 common genetic variants linked to body mass index or BMI.
A woman who is "genetically predetermined" to be heavier by 14 pounds, would draw an annual income that is less than the taller woman's by $1,600. She would also be on the lower scale in the "Townsend deprivation index", which takes a measure of what you cannot enjoy in life, such as a swank car or a posh house.
"These findings have important social and health implications, supporting evidence that overweight people, especially women, are at a disadvantage and that taller people, especially men, are at an advantage," the researchers explained.
The study does not make the causes of these phenomena clear. However, social stereotypes and prejudices about the "ideal body shape and size" may perhaps influence the beliefs.
"There are conscious and subconscious biases about how someone looks," Frayling said. "Does this factor into employment discrimination when they are interviewed for jobs or try to move up the career ladder? Social discrimination when it comes to choosing mates?"
He added that factors such as "low self-esteem and depression" tend to play a role in determining the linkages between height, weight and success.
Still, these are not laws writ in stone. Those of you short men and overweight women who feel indignant about unfair natural laws can keep in mind that this study only shows an "average effect", and does not play any role in deciding your fate or future!
You can take some comfort from what this expert said:
"There are many, many shorter men and slightly overweight or fat women," Frayling said, "who do better than their taller and thinner counterparts and peers."
The study was published in the March 8 edition of The BMJ.
