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Scientists have found a correlation between a person's height and IQ level
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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At the University of Edinburgh, one of the studies showed that short people have lower intelligence than tall people. About seven thousand people who were not related to each other took part in this research project. During the study, scientists analyzed DNA markers, and, according to experts, the connection between a person’s height and intelligence is still not great, but it is extremely important.
As scientists note, the genetic similarities of people with approximately the same height and intelligence were compared. According to the head of the research project, Riccardo Marioni, in previous studies that were aimed at the relationship between height and intelligence, only blood relatives (twins, etc.) were used. In this research project, scientists decided for the first time to analyze people who were not related to each other. And as it turned out, it was the tall people who were more intelligent.
During the study, scientists measured intelligence using special tests, and blood tests helped study genes. As a result, the research team noted that 70% of the connection between intelligence and a person's height can be explained by genetic factors, and 30% by the influence of external factors. However, millions of short people are unlikely to agree with the results of this study, since as an example, there are a sufficient number of world-class geniuses whose height did not exceed the average mark.
In earlier studies, scientists have established another advantage of tallness. As the results showed, in people whose height is above average, plaque formation in the arteries occurs much less often than in people of average and short height, so tall people are less susceptible to developing cardiovascular diseases, in addition, the life expectancy of tall people is longer. A probable connection between ischemia and human height has been discovered in the course of several studies, but scientists have not been able to establish the exact mechanism of such a relationship. One of the latest studies has found that heart problems in people begin due to the accumulation of plaques in the arteries, which are formed due to an increased level of calcium in the arteries.
Several years ago, scientists in Cambridge discovered a connection between the cause of death and a person's height. The analysis showed that tall people are more likely to die from cancer, while people of average and short height are more likely to die from cardiovascular diseases. Scientists assume that the internal organs of tall people are larger, which increases the likelihood that one of the cells will be pathological.
As scientists note, human height is primarily influenced by heredity, as well as the social conditions in which he was raised. For example, low height can be caused by poor nutrition, chronic infections, severe psycho-emotional experiences in childhood.
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