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The best way to make accurate health assessments is to include all the health risk factors. And you can’t do this without including unchangeable factors like the effect of your height on health.

 

 

There are a lot of different health risk factors that you need to include in your regular health assessments. When you measure your health in this way, you’ll have the best chance of catching problems signs early. And this is essential to getting fast, effective treatment. But some health risk factors such as height are difficult to incorporate. You can’t change your height, and it’s often hard to tell what effect it will have over the long-term. The nature of the connection between height and health risk also isn’t clear. But that doesn’t mean it won’t impact your health over time.

 

Your Height and Health Risk

There isn’t enough information about the impact of height on health at this stage. It’s clear that height does affect health. But there’s only a small amount of information linking height with specific health concerns. Some studies claim that heart disease and cancer risk is higher in people who are taller. However, other studies show the opposite effect. What is clear is that height is an important health risk factor. And that’s why it must be part of your health assessment calculations.

 

Now there is evidence that your height can increase or decrease your chances of developing Type II Diabetes.

 

Height and Type II Diabetes

A study in Germany has found a link between height and diabetes development. The study was performed after earlier research uncovered this link between shortness and a higher risk of diabetes. It was performed by the German Center for Diabetes Research and the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke.

 

The health records of 27,548 participants who participated in an unrelated study were used as data. This included 16,644 women between the ages of 35 and 65 and 10,904 men between 40 and 65. A random sample of 10 percent was selected from these groups.

 

The results were extremely interesting. The researchers found that every 10cm or 4 inches of additional height in men meant a 41 percent lower chance of developing Type II diabetes. In women, the risk was decreased by 33 percent. And this connection held true regardless of weight as well. In these groups, the risk was still decreased by 36 percent for men and 30 percent for women. This means that weight may have a minimal effect on the benefits of height in diabetes development.

 

Why Does Height Lower Health Risk?

No one’s sure why height lowers the risk of Type II diabetes. However, there are several theories. One suggestion is that greater height could lead to less fat build up in the liver. It also may be associated with better cardiometabolic risk factors such as adiponectin, blood fats, and C-reactive protein. All these factors are associated with diabetes in the following ways:

 

• Adiponectin is a protein hormone that helps regulate glucose levels.
• C-reactive protein is made by the liver in response to inflammation or infection. High levels of this protein have been linked to diabetes development.
• People with diabetes often have high blood fat levels because high blood glucose levels in the blood make it hard for the body to absorb fat from the blood.

So, according to this theory, greater height may lower these health risk factors. There is also a link between leg length, sitting height, and diabetes. The study found that male participants with longer legs had a lower risk of developing diabetes. This connection did not exist in female participants.

 

These findings suggest that growth before puberty has a greater effect on diabetes development in males than growth after. This is based on the fact that the leg bones stop growing before trunk bones. So, longer legs usually mean more growth before puberty. In females, this link doesn’t exist. This means that growth before and after puberty contribute equally to lower diabetes risk in women.

 

Lowering Health Risk in the Whole Family

What is clear through these studies is that height is a health risk for Type II diabetes. This has implications for the whole family. By monitoring your kid’s growth before and after puberty, you will be able to better assess their risk of developing this condition. And this will allow for early and more effective intervention.

 

The final takeaway from these studies applies only to people who are short. When you do your health assessments, you need to be aware that your cardiometabolic risk factors may be a problem. That’s why you should monitor them closely throughout your life.

 

 

 

If you’re concerned about a health risk, try using HomeLab to keep track of your condition and any preventative measures you take. And if you see signs of a significant problem, you should check with your doctor as soon as possible.

 

 

Tags: Health Risk, diabetes