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The weekly newsletter for Fed2 by ibgamesEARTHDATE: July 24, 2011
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REAL LIFE NEWS: TALL PEOPLE AT HIGHER RISK OF CANCERby HazedAnd for this week's health scare... it seems that if you are tall you have a greater chance of getting ten common cancers than shorties. For every four inches above five feet a person was, the cancer risk increases by 16%. That means, at five foot eight, my chances of contracting cancer are 32% higher. Gee, that's good to know. The study was carried out by University of Oxford researchers who looked at more than one million women in the Uk between 1996 and 2001. But men can't breathe a sigh of relief: the researchers reported that although this study only looked at women, the height link was also present in men. The ten cancers that have been linked to height are colon, rectal, malignant melanoma, breast, endometrial, ovarian, kidney, lymphoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma and leukemia. The scientists are stumped as to the reason for this increased risk. They speculate that growth hormones may have something to do with it, but they don't really know. But just so tall people like me don't fall into despair, doctors are quick to point out that the increased risk of cancers due to being tall is very small compared to other risks, such as smoking. Plus, they say, being tall is generally associated with better health: tall people tend to have a good start in life and continue doing well. Previous research has suggested that tall people tend to have higher IQs, better job prospects and a more positive outlook on life. Phew, I feel better now. There's a lot more info about how being tall is a good thing in the second story linked below. Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-14220382 |
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