Squirts probably don't need any more reasons to envy their longer-limbed neighbors. Unfortunately, a new study just added to the indignity of short people. According to a paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research, both men and women who are above average height — 5 ft. 10 in. for males, 5 ft. 4 in. for females — report higher levels of happiness than smaller people.
Why Tall People Are Happier Than Short People
In the study, men who call their lives the "worst possible" are nearly an inch shorter than the average man. The women most down in the dumps are half an inch smaller, on average, than the average woman. Taller people say they are more content, and are less likely to report a range of negative emotions like sadness and physical pain. "Happiness is just one more thing that taller people have going for them," says Angus Deaton, a Princeton economist and co-author of the study, who stands a smug 6 ft. 4 in. (Full disclosure: I, too, am about 6 ft. 4 in., but I will refrain from mocking shrimps in this story.)
Why are tall people happier? According to Deaton's analysis, the result is linked to education and income. The study found that taller people tend to have more education, and thus higher income levels, than shorter people. It follows that the smarter, richer tall people would be sunnier than their vertically challenged compatriots. "Money buys enjoyment and higher life evaluation," says Deaton. "It buys off stress, anger, worry and pain. Income is the thing!"
Despite giving up an healthy Wall Street income, Lee, who claims he's 5 ft. 9 in. but admits to being 5 ft. 8 in. when pressed, considers himself content. "I'm not totally buying it," he says of the study. "I'm below average height, and have above-average happiness." In his basketball work, Lee spends a lot of time around well-compensated human trees, and doesn't always see smiling faces. "There are plenty of NBA players who are absolutely miserable," Lee says. "They want more playing time, they feel underappreciated. Only a dozen or so guys feel that they are truly loved."
In his Wall Street days, Lee saw plenty of rich, happy short people and wealthy, depressed tall people. He does offer one reason why taller men might be happier. "Whenever I'm out with tall guys, they tend to get more attention from women," says Lee. "You never hear girls say, 'Hey, I'm really into short guys.'"
Lee directed me to one of the players he coaches, Coleman Collins, for the smart, tall guy's perspective. When I told him Lee questioned the findings, Collins, who is 6 ft. 9 in., wasn't surprised. "Short people are always ready to disagree," says Collins, who graduated from Virginia Tech when he was 19, after just three years, and played for the school's basketball team. He points out that he has many short friends. "Generally speaking, I've found that they are more likely to have a chip on their shoulder, more likely to have something to prove," Collins says.
Collins, now 23, supports the study's results. "I'm generally in a good mood," he says. "And based on the anecdotal evidence I've seen, tall people have a more pleasant disposition and are more easygoing. They don't have to make an extra effort to command attention. When they walk into a room, it tends to come naturally to them." Such recognition surely helps your self-esteem. If only it wasn't too late for you short people to have a growth spurt.
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Tall people 'lead happier lives'
The Telegraph
Tall people lead happier lives than their more vertically challenged peers, according to a new study which found that most miserable men are almost an inch shorter than average.
According to the findings, people who were taller were more likely to be positive about their life and were more likely to judge themselves as happy
Researchers found that shorter people tended to be more dissatisfied with their lot in life.
The study interviewed more than 450,000 adults about how they viewed their life.
The volunteers were asked to place themselves somewhere on a “life ladder” and asked about their emotions.
According to the findings, people who were taller were also more likely to be positive about their life and were more likely to judge themselves a happy.
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| Tall people 'lead happier lives' |
They were also less likely to feel a range of negative emotions, including sadness and physical pain, although they were more likely to experience stress and anger, and if they were women, to worry.
Men who reported that their lives were the "worst possible" were in general more than eight tenths of an inch, or two centimetres, shorter than the average height.
Women who viewed themselves as "on the bottom step" on the life ladder were shorter than the average woman by half an inch, or 1.3 centimetres.
There was also a link between height and education, the findings, published in the journal Economics and Human Biology, found.
Men who did not finish secondary school were found to be half an inch, or 1.27 centimetres, shorter than average and more than an inch, or 2.54 centimetres, shorter than the average height of those who had gone on to graduate from university.
However, there was no such clear link when it came to women, with just small differences in height.
The authors of the report, from Princeton University in New Jersey, conclude that the link between education, income and height mostly explained the link with happiness and life satisfaction.
The data was taken from the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index daily poll of the American population.
The survey interviewed adults aged 18 or between January 2008 and April 2009.
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