BEING TALL HAS ITS DISADVANTAGES

The taller you are, the greater your risk of developing cancer. A new study of nearly 21,000 postmenopausal women found that with every 4-inch increase in height, the risk of developing any type of cancer—including skin, breast, and colon cancer—increased by 13 percent, while the risk of certain cancers—like those of the kidney and blood—rose by as much as 29 percent. Previous studies have also shown a link between height and cancer in men. Researchers aren’t sure why, but it may be that genetic factors that cause people to grow taller also predispose them to the uncontrolled growth of cells that take place in cancer. “Ultimately, cancer is a result of processes having to do with growth,” Geoffrey Kabat, an epidemiologist at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, tells DiscoveryNews.com. “So it makes sense that hormones or other growth factors that influence height may also influence cancer risk.”