Tall people enjoy life more

According to U.S. researchers who looked at 454,000 adults, tall people judge their lives more favourably, and are more likely to report feeling positive emotions like enjoyment and happiness, the BBC reports. This is probably because taller people also benefit from higher incomes and education, the team concludes. In the study, participants were asked to imagine a ladder with rungs numbered from zero (“the worst possible life for you”) to 10 (“the best possible life for you”). They were then asked which rung of the ladder they were standing on. Men, who were above the average height of 5ft, 10 in, reported they were higher on the ladder than those below average height, scoring 6.55 on average, compared to the shorter men who scored 6.41. Meanwhile, taller women (above the average height of 5 ft, 4 in) scored 6.64, whereas shorter women scored 6.55. Taller people were also less likely to report pain and sadness. "There’s no direct correlation between income and happiness—surveys going back years show that,” psychologist Dr. Colin Gill told the BBC. "But there does appear to be a correlation between height and happiness and height and income. Height does matter, it’s always mattered for a very obvious reason—when you are born you are shorter than the people who look after you and have authority over you. And that power relationship never reverses."

BBC News