History tells us of countless short men who have achieved greatness. And psychologists have speculated that their success may be driven by a kind of paranoid complex that makes them overcompensate — for what they perceive as disadvantages of their stature — by being more aggressive and ambitious than the rest of us.
In analyzing genetic and socio-economic data from more than 120,000 people ages 37 to 73, researchers came to the strong conclusion that short men do have what they called “reduced chances in life.” That includes things such as level of education, income and job class.
University of Exeter genetics professor Timothy Frayling, a co-author of the study, called it the “classic chicken and egg question of which comes first.”
The study found that height does not have much of an impact on success for women, but body fat does.
“These findings have important social and health implications, supporting evidence that overweight people, especially women, are at a disadvantage and that taller people, especially men, are at an advantage,” the researchers wrote.