Height Isn't Might: Tallness Linked To Increased Cancer Risk [Study]

Height is a concern for many, and most preferred to be tall perhaps because some profession require it. The taller one is, the more advantage he has in basketball or boxing, for instance. However, being tall is linked to a higher risk of cancer, a new study says.

The study was drawn from physical and health data of five million people in Sweden. The research team reported that for every 10 centimeters (four inches) over one meter in height, the risk of developing cancer increases by 10 percent in men and 18 percent in women, Yahoo! News.

For instance, a Swedish woman six-feet tall (1.27 meters) has about a third more likely to contract cancer compared to shorter women, say 1.52 meters.

A separate study, published earlier in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers &  Prevention also found a correlation between height and cancer risk among postmenopausal: the taller the woman, the greater risk for the disease, TIME has learned.

The said study, which was done among women found out that for each 10 centimeters of height, there is a 13 percent increase of risk in developing a range of different cancers.

The researchers examined all the cancers together and they learned that taller women had 13 to 17 percent greater risk of developing melanoma, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, endometrial cancer and colon cancer. They also had 23 percent to 29 percent risk in developing kidney, rectum, thyroid and blood cancers.

The study stressed that "all of the cancers showed a positive association with height; none of the taller women showed a lower risk of cancer compared to their shorter counterparts."   

It seems that being too tall for women is quite a risk.

According to Yahoo! News, it is not clear yet if the said findings apply to people who live in different climates, with different diets and genetic backgrounds.

The new study, which was unveiled at a meeting of the European Society for Pediatric Endoctrinology, considered the birth, health and military records of 5.5 million people born between 1938  and 1991. The tallest was 2.25 m in adulthood.

The study revealed that for every extra 10cm, a woman had a 20 percent odds of developing a breast cancer. On the other hand, there was a 30 percent increase of risk in melanoma for both genders.

"It sounds an odd relationship at first glance, but it is actually very plausible that the risk of cancer in a person should be related to the number of cells in their body, since that determines the number of cells 'at risk'," said Dorothy Bennett, a scientist at University of London. "A cancer arises by mutations from a single normal cell. Bigger people have more cells."