During the second half of the 20th century, the
people living the
longestincluded the Japanese, Hong Kong Chinese, andGreeks
2—allbeing
shorter and
weighing less than
northern Europeans and North Americans.In addition, data from the California Department of Health indicate thatAsians and Hispanics live more than 4 years longer than tallerwhites.
6 Wild andassociates found that East Indians, Chinese, Japanese, and Hispanics inCalifornia had lower all-cause and CHD death rates, as shown in theTable.
7 Heightsobtained from other sources are shown for each ethnic group and indicate thatshorter ethnic groups had lower death rates.
Compared with northern Europeans,
shorter southern Europeans hadsubstantially lower death rates from CHD and allcauses.
2 Greeks andItalians in Australia live about 4 years longer than the taller hostpopulation, and shorter Turkish migrants in Germany have an age-adjusted CHDdeath rate half that of taller indigenous Germans. Others have pointed outthat genetics is not the primary factor here because after a few generations,Mexican and Japanese migrants approach the CHD and cancer rates of the hostcountry.
2 One of us(H E) led medical teams in studies of eight populations selected for healthyand vigorous people and found that they were also smallpeople.
8
A report on a 25-year study of Okinawans indicates that they have thegreatest longevity in the world, including exceeding that of mainlandJapanese.
9 Okinawansare vigorous and healthy into advanced ages and continue a high level ofphysical activity into their 90s. They have the lowest rates of cancer andheart disease in the world and also exceed most countries in centenarians at arate of 34 per 100,000 versus 5 to 10 per 100,000 for industrialized nations.Bone fractures were found to be substantially less than in mainland Japan andthe United States. The Okinawans eat a low-calorie, high-fiber diet rich invegetables, grains, and soy. Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats(especially omega 3) are consumed in preference to saturated fats. Refinedcarbohydrates and animal products, except for fish, are consumed in smallamounts. Tea and small amounts of alcohol are drunk daily. However, saltintake is 7 g, which is higher than the less than 1 g consumed by populationswith lifelong low blood pressure.
The researchers, Willcox etal,
9 did notattribute this superior health to genetics because when younger Okinawansmigrate to mainland Japan, Hawaii, or the United States, they soon acquire thechronic diseases of the host population. The Okinawans are shorter and weighless than mainland Japanese, and men aged 87 to 104 years average 145.4 cm (4ft 9 in) and 42.8 kg (94lb).
2
Other researchers have found many traditional societies with good healthand little CHD andcancer.
10,11,12For example, Walker found that rural blacks in South Africa had virtually noCHD and little diet-relatedcancer.
2,10The blacks averaged about 10 cm shorter than whites. Lindeberg etal
11 reported thatMelanesians living in Kitava were healthy and that heart disease and strokewere virtually absent in a population ranging in age from 20 to 86 years. Themen averaged 161 cm (5 ft 3 in) and 53 kg (117 lb). A study of Solomon Islandpopulations also found them to be free of CHD and healthy, with male heightsranging from 160 to 163cm.
12
Longevity studies of deceased US veterans found an inverse relation betweenheight andlongevity.
13Evaluation of height and longevity of deceased professional base-ball playersand 19th century French men and women also showed an inverse relation, asshown in figures and.
14In a review of literature on height, body size, and longevity, we foundseveral studies that showed a negative correlation between height andlongevity.
2
|
Figure 1
Reduction of baseball players' average life span with increasing height.(Reproduced with permission of Washington Academy of Sciences, Washington,DC.) |
|
Figure 2
Average life span in years versus height for 19th century deceased Frenchmen. (Reproduced with permission of Washington Academy of Sciences,Washington, DC.) |
Many studies have found a positive correlation between cancer, rapidgrowth, and height.
2For example, Albanes reported that rapid growth during adolescence is tied toincreased cancer risk in adulthood, with a 3- to 4-mm increment in leg lengthabove average resulting in an 80% higher risk in nonsmoking-related cancer,based on a 50-yearfollow-up.
15 Hebertet al also found that taller US physicians (183 cm [6 ft] or more) had ahigher cancer rate than shorter ones (170 cm [5 ft 7 in] ormore).
16