The secret of longevity: how height and weight affect longevity

The secret of longevity: how height and weight affect longevity

Scientists have found out that these factors are directly related to the number of years lived.

Many people think that height and weight are just numbers that do not affect anything. However, this is not entirely true. Scientists have managed to find a correlation between these factors and life expectancy. We tell you how the study was conducted and people with which complexion live longer than others.

How was the study conducted?

Scientists from Maastricht University began conducting a study to identify the relationship between height and weight of a person and life expectancy in 1986. The experiment involved more than seven thousand men and women between the ages of 55 and 69.

Participants provided information about their current height and weight, as well as similar figures in their twenties, and described their physical activity. Follow-up was conducted until the study subjects reached age 90 or died.

What conclusions did the scientists come to?

At the end of the experiment, scientists found that slender and tall women were more likely to live to the age of 90 than short and full. Thus, women with a height of about 175 centimeters were 31% more likely to celebrate the ninetieth birthday than women with a height of 160 centimeters. As for physical activity, the positive effect was observed only from activities that lasted no more than 60 minutes a day – more load had no effect on life expectancy.

As the experiment showed, neither height nor weight had any effect on men’s longevity. But physical activity played a more significant role. Participants who exercised more than 90 minutes a day had 39% more chances to reach their ninetieth birthday than those whose activity lasted less than 30 minutes. A person’s lifestyle was also significantly affected: bad habits shortened life expectancy.

Thus, the factors that influence a longer life differ between the sexes. While for women, height, weight and daily physical activity are especially important, for men only activity plays a key role. Nevertheless, a healthy lifestyle and the absence of bad habits are important for all.

You can read more about the results in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, which published the study.