On 2017 Feb 15, thomas samaras commented:

This is an excellent paper on height trends in Sardinia. However, I disagree with the precept that height can be used as a measure of health and longevity. Many researchers view height as a byproduct of the Industrial Revolution and the Western diet. In actuality, greater height and associated weight is harmful to our long-term health and longevity. There are many reasons for this position.

1. Carrera-Bastos reported that our modern diet is not the cause for increased life expectancy (LE). Instead, our progress in sanitation, hygiene, immunization, and medical technology have driven our rise in life expectancy. This increase in life expectancy is not that great at older ages; e.g., in 1900, a 75-year old man could expect to live another 8.5 years. A 100 years later, he could expect to live 10 years. Not a substantial improvement in spite of great advances in food availability, lifestyle, medicine, worker safety, etc.

2. A number of researchers have associated our increased height with excess nutrition, not better quality nutrition (Farb, Galton, Gubner, and Campbell).

3. Nobel prize winner, Charles Townes stated that shorter people live   
   

   longer. Other scientists supporting the longevity benefits of smaller<br> body size within the same species include Bartke, Rollo, Kraus, Pavard, Promislow, Richardson, Topol, Ringsby, Barrett, Storms, Moore, Elrick, De Magahlaes and Leroi.

4. Carrera-Bastos, et al. reported that pre-Western societies rarely get age-related chronic diseases until they transition to a Western diet. Trowell and Burkitt found this to be true based on their research over 40 years ago (Book: Western Diseases, Trowell and Burkitt.) Popkin noted that the food system developed in the West over the last 100+ years has been “devastating” to our health.

5. A 2007 report by the World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute of Cancer Research concluded that the Industrial Revolution gave rise to the Western diet that is related to increased height, weight and chronic diseases. (This report was based on evaluation of about 7000 papers and reports.)

6. US males are 9% taller and have a 9% shorter life expectancy. Similar differences among males and females in Japan and California Asians were found. It is unlikely that the inverse relationship in life expectancy and height is a coincidence. (Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 1992, Table 4.)

7. High animal protein is a key aspect of the Western Diet, but it has many negative results. For example, a high protein diet increases the levels of CRP, fibrinogen, Lp (a), IGF-1, Apo B, homocysteine, type 2 diabetes, and free radicals. In addition, the metabolism of protein has more harmful byproducts; e.g., the metabolism of fats and carbs produces CO2 and water. In contrast protein metabolism produces ammonia, urea, uric acid and hippuric acid. (Fleming, Levine, Lopez).

8. The high LE ranking of tall countries is often cited as supporting the the conviction that taller people live longer. However, if we eliminate non-developed countries, which have high death rates during the first 5 years of life and poor medical care, the situation changes. However, among developed countries, shorter countries rank the highest compared to tall countries. For example, out of the top 10 countries, only Iceland is a tall country. The other developed countries are relatively short or medium in height: The top 10 countries include: Monaco (1), Singapore, Japan, Macau, San Marino, Iceland (tall exception), Hong Kong, Andorra, Switzerland, and Guernsey (10). The Netherlands, one of the tallest countries in Europe, ranks 25 from the top. The ranking of other tall countries include: Norway (21), Germany (34), Denmark (47), and Bosnia and Herzegovina (84). Source for LE data: CIA World Factbook, 2016 data. Male height data from Wikipedia.

It should be pointed out that a number of confounders exist that can invalidate mortality studies that show shorter people have higher mortality. Some of these confounders include socioeconomic status, higher weight for height in shorter people, smoking, and failure to focus on ages exceeding 60 years (differences showing shorter people live longer generally occur after 60 years of age). For example, Waaler’s mortality study covered the entire age range. He found that between 70 and 85 years of age, tall people had a higher mortality than shorter men between 5’7” and 6’. An insurance study (Build Study, 1979) found that when they compared shorter and taller men with the same degree of overweight, the shorter men had a slightly lower mortality.

Anyone interested in the evidence showing that smaller body size is related to improved health and longevity can find evidence in the article below which is based on over 140 longevity, mortality, survival and centenarian studies.

Samaras TT. Evidence from eight different types of studies showing that smaller body size is related to greater longevity. JSRR 2014. 2(16): 2150-2160, 2014; Article no. JSRR.2014.16.003

On 2017 Feb 15, thomas samaras commented:

This is an excellent paper on height trends in Sardinia. However, I disagree with the precept that height can be used as a measure of health and longevity. Many researchers view height as a byproduct of the Industrial Revolution and the Western diet. In actuality, greater height and associated weight is harmful to our long-term health and longevity. There are many reasons for this position.

1. Carrera-Bastos reported that our modern diet is not the cause for increased life expectancy (LE). Instead, our progress in sanitation, hygiene, immunization, and medical technology have driven our rise in life expectancy. This increase in life expectancy is not that great at older ages; e.g., in 1900, a 75-year old man could expect to live another 8.5 years. A 100 years later, he could expect to live 10 years. Not a substantial improvement in spite of great advances in food availability, lifestyle, medicine, worker safety, etc.

2. A number of researchers have associated our increased height with excess nutrition, not better quality nutrition (Farb, Galton, Gubner, and Campbell).

3. Nobel prize winner, Charles Townes stated that shorter people live   
   

   longer. Other scientists supporting the longevity benefits of smaller<br> body size within the same species include Bartke, Rollo, Kraus, Pavard, Promislow, Richardson, Topol, Ringsby, Barrett, Storms, Moore, Elrick, De Magahlaes and Leroi.

4. Carrera-Bastos, et al. reported that pre-Western societies rarely get age-related chronic diseases until they transition to a Western diet. Trowell and Burkitt found this to be true based on their research over 40 years ago (Book: Western Diseases, Trowell and Burkitt.) Popkin noted that the food system developed in the West over the last 100+ years has been “devastating” to our health.

5. A 2007 report by the World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute of Cancer Research concluded that the Industrial Revolution gave rise to the Western diet that is related to increased height, weight and chronic diseases. (This report was based on evaluation of about 7000 papers and reports.)

6. US males are 9% taller and have a 9% shorter life expectancy. Similar differences among males and females in Japan and California Asians were found. It is unlikely that the inverse relationship in life expectancy and height is a coincidence. (Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 1992, Table 4.)

7. High animal protein is a key aspect of the Western Diet, but it has many negative results. For example, a high protein diet increases the levels of CRP, fibrinogen, Lp (a), IGF-1, Apo B, homocysteine, type 2 diabetes, and free radicals. In addition, the metabolism of protein has more harmful byproducts; e.g., the metabolism of fats and carbs produces CO2 and water. In contrast protein metabolism produces ammonia, urea, uric acid and hippuric acid. (Fleming, Levine, Lopez).

8. The high LE ranking of tall countries is often cited as supporting the the conviction that taller people live longer. However, if we eliminate non-developed countries, which have high death rates during the first 5 years of life and poor medical care, the situation changes. However, among developed countries, shorter countries rank the highest compared to tall countries. For example, out of the top 10 countries, only Iceland is a tall country. The other developed countries are relatively short or medium in height: The top 10 countries include: Monaco (1), Singapore, Japan, Macau, San Marino, Iceland (tall exception), Hong Kong, Andorra, Switzerland, and Guernsey (10). The Netherlands, one of the tallest countries in Europe, ranks 25 from the top. The ranking of other tall countries include: Norway (21), Germany (34), Denmark (47), and Bosnia and Herzegovina (84). Source for LE data: CIA World Factbook, 2016 data. Male height data from Wikipedia.

It should be pointed out that a number of confounders exist that can invalidate mortality studies that show shorter people have higher mortality. Some of these confounders include socioeconomic status, higher weight for height in shorter people, smoking, and failure to focus on ages exceeding 60 years (differences showing shorter people live longer generally occur after 60 years of age). For example, Waaler’s mortality study covered the entire age range. He found that between 70 and 85 years of age, tall people had a higher mortality than shorter men between 5’7” and 6’. An insurance study (Build Study, 1979) found that when they compared shorter and taller men with the same degree of overweight, the shorter men had a slightly lower mortality.

Anyone interested in the evidence showing that smaller body size is related to improved health and longevity can find evidence in the article below which is based on over 140 longevity, mortality, survival and centenarian studies.

Samaras TT. Evidence from eight different types of studies showing that smaller body size is related to greater longevity. JSRR 2014. 2(16): 2150-2160, 2014; Article no. JSRR.2014.16.003