Short and Sweet- The Sequel

So far you read about my problems with my lack of height.  I ended with "Don't I have ANY reason to be happy about being short?"

Answering my own question, let me explain scientifically:

Shorter people of the same proportions as taller people, have many physical advantages, say physicists.  Shorter people have faster reaction times, greater ability to accelerate body movements, stronger muscles in proportion to body weight, greater endurance.

They are also less likely to break bones in falling.

Substantial findings have been presented showing that shorter and smaller people live longer.  The reason for this is that bigger bodies have more cells and these cells are subject to replacement due to wear or damage.  Most human body cells have limited capacity for duplication. Since bigger people require a larger number of duplications to reach maturity, they have fewer potential cell doubling left to replace defective or dead cells. Thus the functional capability of vital organs declines with advanced age because damaged cells cannot be replaced.  A new study also showed that oxidative damage to cells increases at a higher rate with increasing height. The current thinking is that oxidative damage leads to aging and death.

Once, describing my woes in being short, I asked a question in the net if there are any advantages in being short. I was surprised to get many responses from taller people complaining about being tall.  One said, ”I am 6’4” and I haven’t been able to find a decent shirt or pair of pant in my size for years”. Many had similar problems of not finding appropriate clothes and shoes. Another said, vehicles are made for short people, and taller people found it uncomfortable to stretch their legs in buses or while sleeping on the berths of trains. One complained of bumping his head to the ceilings of buses every time he stood up. And as I mentioned earlier, someone said, shorter people are closer to the ground and they have lesser chances of hurting themselves as badly as taller people.  The best answer was that shorter people always look younger than they are.  And people are attracted to them especially if they are petite short females. Isn’t that a good advantage?

A thought that has frequently bothered me was, if people have acrophobia, do they feel dizzy whenever they look down?

          ‘Shorty’ – Most of the lot call me.  Sometimes I am the object of "Guess her age" contest. If some call me ‘tiny’ some others have certified me to be ‘the shortest gal in the college’.  The superlative used in it implying I am the only one of the kind, is fairly elating.  As for the other comments, I don’t move a hair.  Maybe I am used to it. I accept it as my identity, my uniqueness!