A new study of Sardinian males demonstrated that short men live an average of two years longer than taller men and challenged the assumption that women naturally live longer than men.
Sardinia is known as a "blue zone', where people live famously long lives because of their healthy lifestyle. Professor Poulain from the University of Louvain in Belgium and Dr. Salaris at the University of Cagliari in Sardinia studied 500 Sardinian males born between 1866 and 1915 and published the results in the journal Biodemography and Social Biology.
In a subset of 14 Sardinian municipalities, subjects lived longer than other parts of the island. Further examination showed that these municipalities had the shortest average heights, and that longevity increased as average height declined. The shortest municipality, Villagrande Strisaili, had the greatest longevity.
The researchers also noted that while women are typically shorter than men and have greater longevity, in areas where men and women are the same average height, longevity was essentially the same.
Poulain and Salaris' results are consistent with 12 previous studies demonstrating a correlation between height and longevity, including a larger study conducted in Spain analysing 1.3 million men in a 70-year time frame.
The researchers noted that height only accounts for 10% of a person's longevity profile, however, so tall individuals can have greater longevity than less healthy short individuals. Nutrition, appropriate body weight, exercise, medical conditions, and psychological factors all influence longevity.
