On 2015 Jun 15, thomas samaras commented:

There's no doubt that increased stress is related to short height. And this stress is created through the propagation of a false premise based on social bias and not science. If we view human body height and its associated weight in terms of health and survival of our race, shorter height has a number of advantages. In the absence of health factors causing reduced height, shorter people tend to be healthier and have a longer functional life span. In addition, a worldwide population of smaller people reduces demand for energy, food, water and various resources. In addition, air, water and land pollution is sharply reduced if we do not increase the number of people on earth. For example, since the 1900s Americans have increased in height and weight (about 45 lb for males). A CDC researcher found that a 10 lb increase in the weight of the average American would require an increase in airline fuel consumption of 350 million gallons per year. This added fuel consumption would also generate 4 billion tons of air pollution.

Our society also gives short shrift to shorter athletes. A report from Finland found that the average military recruit was taller than boxers, long-distance runners, cross-country skiers, wrestlers and weight lifters. Cantu and others also reported that being shorter was an advantage in gymnastics, diving, ballet, figure skating, long distance running and certain skiing events.

We need to change our scenario from "taller is better" to "shorter is better." Otherwise, we face a bleak future; e.g., extinction or a sharp reduction in our standard of living. Several articles are identified below. The website: www.humanbodysize.com also provides more information on the benefits of smaller human body size and a list of over 45 papers, book chapters and books.

Samaras Thomas, T. Why smaller humans are in our future. Policy Innovations, 10/20/2014 (available from internet)

Samaras TT. Evidence from eight different types of studies showing that smaller body size is related to greater longevity. Journal of Scientific Research & Reports. 2014: 3 (16): 2150-2160, 2014; article no. JSRR.2014.16.003.

Samaras TT. Human Scaling and Body Mass Index. In: Samaras TT (ed): Human Body Size and the Laws of Scaling: Physiological Performance, Growth, Longevity and Ecological Ramifications. New York: Nova Science Pub; 2007: pp 17-32.

He Q, Morris BJ, Grove JS, Petrovitch H, Ross W, Masaki KH, et al. Shorter men live longer: Association of height with longevity and FOXO3 genotype in American men of Japanese ancestry. Plos ONE 9(5): e94385. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0094385.

Salaris L, Poulain M, Samaras TT. Height and survival at older ages among men born in an inland village in Sardinia (Italy), 1866-2006. Biodemography and Social Biology, 58:1, 1-13.

Bartke A. Healthy Aging: Is Smaller better? A mini-review. Gerontology 2012; 58:337-43.

Samaras TT. The Truth About Your Height, Tecolete Pub., San Diego 1994.(see Amazon Books)

On 2015 Jun 15, thomas samaras commented:

There's no doubt that increased stress is related to short height. And this stress is created through the propagation of a false premise based on social bias and not science. If we view human body height and its associated weight in terms of health and survival of our race, shorter height has a number of advantages. In the absence of health factors causing reduced height, shorter people tend to be healthier and have a longer functional life span. In addition, a worldwide population of smaller people reduces demand for energy, food, water and various resources. In addition, air, water and land pollution is sharply reduced if we do not increase the number of people on earth. For example, since the 1900s Americans have increased in height and weight (about 45 lb for males). A CDC researcher found that a 10 lb increase in the weight of the average American would require an increase in airline fuel consumption of 350 million gallons per year. This added fuel consumption would also generate 4 billion tons of air pollution.

Our society also gives short shrift to shorter athletes. A report from Finland found that the average military recruit was taller than boxers, long-distance runners, cross-country skiers, wrestlers and weight lifters. Cantu and others also reported that being shorter was an advantage in gymnastics, diving, ballet, figure skating, long distance running and certain skiing events.

We need to change our scenario from "taller is better" to "shorter is better." Otherwise, we face a bleak future; e.g., extinction or a sharp reduction in our standard of living. Several articles are identified below. The website: www.humanbodysize.com also provides more information on the benefits of smaller human body size and a list of over 45 papers, book chapters and books.

Samaras Thomas, T. Why smaller humans are in our future. Policy Innovations, 10/20/2014 (available from internet)

Samaras TT. Evidence from eight different types of studies showing that smaller body size is related to greater longevity. Journal of Scientific Research & Reports. 2014: 3 (16): 2150-2160, 2014; article no. JSRR.2014.16.003.

Samaras TT. Human Scaling and Body Mass Index. In: Samaras TT (ed): Human Body Size and the Laws of Scaling: Physiological Performance, Growth, Longevity and Ecological Ramifications. New York: Nova Science Pub; 2007: pp 17-32.

He Q, Morris BJ, Grove JS, Petrovitch H, Ross W, Masaki KH, et al. Shorter men live longer: Association of height with longevity and FOXO3 genotype in American men of Japanese ancestry. Plos ONE 9(5): e94385. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0094385.

Salaris L, Poulain M, Samaras TT. Height and survival at older ages among men born in an inland village in Sardinia (Italy), 1866-2006. Biodemography and Social Biology, 58:1, 1-13.

Bartke A. Healthy Aging: Is Smaller better? A mini-review. Gerontology 2012; 58:337-43.

Samaras TT. The Truth About Your Height, Tecolete Pub., San Diego 1994.(see Amazon Books)