Tall men are height of attraction for women, study finds

[one...two...tree 2,762]

If it seemed as if the tall guys got all the girls in high school, it wasn't your imagination. New research suggests taller men are more likely to marry and tend to have more children than short guys.

What's behind the phenomenon -- whether women prefer taller men or those men are simply more outgoing -- is up for debate. But the numbers clearly stack up against shorter guys.

Polish and British scientists studied the medical records of about 3,200 Polish men ages 25 to 60 and found that childless men were on average 1.2 inches shorter than men who had at least one child.

Bachelors were about an inch shorter on average than married men. That was true even after researchers took into account the fact that men's heights increased in recent decades because of better nutrition and health care.

The findings were published in today's issue of the journal Nature.

The records, which were collected in Wroclaw, Poland, from 1983 to 1989, showed that tall men in their 20s, 30s and 40s all had more children than their shorter peers.

Height did not seem to matter for men in their 50s. Robin I.M. Dunbar of the University of Liverpool said that is because those men came of age after World War II -- a catastrophe that claimed the lives of many Polish men and reduced women's mating options.

However, Dunbar said the numbers clearly show that women favor taller men -- something that other research suggests is true across all cultures.

"Basically, height is a proxy for other variables that women find desirable -- men who can protect them, provide them with resources, have good social status and aren't easily dominated by other men," said Dunbar, a professor of evolutionary psychology and the study's co-author.

Out of the military service records of 4,400 men, the researchers excluded men who were abnormally short or tall. The average height of the 3,200 men whose records were part of their final sample was 5 feet 6 inches.

The researchers meant to study men whose height and reproductive success were not so gargantuan, or so small, as to have skewed their results. Their methodology would have excluded someone like Wilt Chamberlain, the 7-foot-1-inch basketball star who bragged of sleeping with 20,000 women.

While other studies have shown that taller-than-average men have higher incomes and social status than shorter men, this study is the first to demonstrate a direct link between height and reproductive success, said David Buss, a professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin.

Buss, who has written two books on human mating habits, said the female preference for taller males harkens back to the earliest stages of human evolution. That was a time when prehistoric women chose mates who could offer them the best protection and provide for their needs.

"This study shows that even in modern times the kind of selection we might think of as prehistoric continues to operate," he said.

Dunbar said he undertook the research after noticing that in personal ads men advertised their height only if they were tall or taller than average.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/tall13.shtml

[Marilyn. 340]

personally I always wanted a guy who was taller then me more so because I am on the tall side and I didn't want to tower over the guy...

I ended up with a guy who is the same height as me ...

[one...two...tree 2,762]

personally I always wanted a guy who was taller then me more so because I am on the tall side and I didn't want to tower over the guy...

I ended up with a guy who is the same height as me ...

May I ask, how tall are you, Marilyn?

[Marilyn. 340]

almost 5'9"

my brother is 6'4" and his wife is just over 5 feet maybe 5'3".... for a joke her mom got her a little step ladder as a wedding gift

[one...two...tree 2,762]

almost 5'9"

my brother is 6'4" and his wife is just over 5 feet maybe 5'3".... for a joke her mom got her a little step ladder as a wedding gift

[jundp 191]

My ex was 5'8" and P is 6'2" so apparently height doesn't matter to me

[Danno 1,228]

Not sure why the study kept using "more children" as the constant measure of proof but I would absolutely agree "women generally like taller men".

In some cultures this seems to be more pronounced than others though.

IN some Cultures women are more ...."practical" shall we say.

They of course like a tall man but, education, earning potential and responsibility accounts for even more.

I would guess a mans height is like a woman with long beautiful hair, both are an "instant attractant" but neither one is a substitute for "substance".

[Ms. Squirrel 11]

I am rather tall too (around 5'10"), but always had a thing for short and stocky men (not Seth Green short, but a wee bit shorter than me), before I met Pedro. Pedro is really tall though and I quite enjoy that.

Edited December 7, 2008 by Ms. Squirrel

[jundp 191]

You're 5'10"?!

wow. i feel short at 5'6" but pretty sure len is shorter than i am!

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Not sure why the study kept using "more children" as the constant measure of proof but I would absolutely agree "women generally like taller men".

In some cultures this seems to be more pronounced than others though.

IN some Cultures women are more ...."practical" shall we say.

They of course like a tall man but, education, earning potential and responsibility accounts for even more.

I would guess a mans height is like a woman with long beautiful hair, both are an "instant attractant" but neither one is a substitute for "substance".

How about these long haired vixens, Danno?

[Ms. Squirrel 11]

You're 5'10"?!

wow. i feel short at 5'6" but pretty sure len is shorter than i am!

Yeah, most of the girls on here seem to be short and petite

My Mom is only 5'5" and my Grandma has shrunk down to 5ft!

[Danno 1,228]

Not sure why the study kept using "more children" as the constant measure of proof but I would absolutely agree "women generally like taller men".

In some cultures this seems to be more pronounced than others though.

IN some Cultures women are more ...."practical" shall we say.

They of course like a tall man but, education, earning potential and responsibility accounts for even more.

I would guess a mans height is like a woman with long beautiful hair, both are an "instant attractant" but neither one is a substitute for "substance".

How about these long haired vixens, Danno?

Not really my style, if I didn't know better I might suspect you were baiting me with some tranny action, they kinda have that look .....but you're more of an expert in that field than I.

[Fandango 1,439]

I'm 5'6 but I rock 4 inch heels quite often, so my threshold is usually 6 feet and up....I've gone as low as 5'10 but never shorter than that...

[Amby 490]

I'm pretty tall and I've never really cared about the height of a guy. I've dated guys taller, shorter, and the same height. Neil is almost 5" shorter than I am.

[LorriQ 0]

I'm pretty tall and I've never really cared about the height of a guy. I've dated guys taller, shorter, and the same height. Neil is almost 5" shorter than I am.

Agree !

I'm average height (5'7") and it's never mattered to me - I'm more concerned about hip width!