Your Height Influences the Risk of Heart Disease, Diabetes, Cancer

Due to dietary factors, humans are taller now - but taller people are more prone to the risk of cancer, warns a recent study.

How tall you are is largely genetically determined but in recent decades the height of children and adults is steadily increasing. But taller people are more prone to the risk of cancer, warns a recent study. The study carried out by researchers in Germany also revealed that taller people have lower risk for heart disease and Type-2 diabetes.

The researchers said, "Your height has an important impact on mortality from certain common diseases, irrespective of body fat mass and other modulating factors."

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‘An individual's height has an important impact on mortality from certain common diseases, irrespective of body fat mass and other modulating factors. Taller people are more prone to the risk of cancer, but they have lower risk for heart disease and Type-2 diabetes.’

"Epidemiological data show that per 6.5 cm in height the risk of cardiovascular mortality decreases by 6%, but cancer mortality, by contrast, increases by 4%," said Matthias Schulze of the German Institute of Human Nutrition at Potsdam in Germany.

"Accordingly, our new data show that tall people are more sensitive to insulin and have lower fat content in the liver, which may explain their lower risk for cardiovascular disease and Type-2 diabetes," said Norbert Stefan from the University of Tubingen in Germany.

These findings fit in with published data that suggest that tall people have relative protection against disorders of the lipid metabolism.

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Use of inhaled glucocorticoids in children results in a deficit in the final adult height.

The result of the study showed inverse association with the risk of cardiovascular disease and Type-2 diabetes -- but a positive association with the risk of cancer.

Physicians should be made more aware of the fact that tall people - although less often affected by cardiovascular disease or Type-2 diabetes - have an increased risk of cancer.

Poor Oral Health During Pregnancy Affects Height in Babies
Oral diseases during pregnancy may be associated with stunting and underweight in infants.

Hitherto, the importance of diet has been underestimated, especially during pregnancy and in children and adolescents, the scientists suggested.

Source-IANS

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