Wanna be tall?: Get rich first!

Wanna be tall?: Get rich first!

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A recent study by the World Health Organization found that
increased height among Indonesian men was associated with
increased income.

The study, reported in the Bulletin of the World Health
Organization, found that a one percent increase in height was
associated on average with an additional 2.6 percent in earnings.

Similar findings have been reported in other countries among
groups of people who rely on manual strength for earning their
livelihoods, WHO Indonesia said in a statement.

The authors of the report explained that the overall low
height among Indonesian adults could be due to poor health and
nutrition in early childhood, which prevented people from
reaching their full physical and mental potential.

The research was commissioned for the Report on Macroeconomics
and Health, initiated by WHO director general Gro Harlem
Brundtland and chaired by eminent economist Jeffrey Sachs of
Harvard University.

The report found that ill-health reduced household wealth in
three main ways. First, illnesses increased medical expenses,
including the time and travel costs involved in seeking health
care. Second, sick adults lost time away from work.

Third, households whose family members suffered from severe
illnesses or were hospitalized might have to stop sending their
children to school or might have to sell assets to pay for health
care.

Forgone education and assets reduced the potential for future
income.

This problem was important in Indonesia where the vast
majority of households did not have insurance for hospitalization
and emergency care, WHO Indonesia said.