Researchers posit that taller women have more testosterone, which produces greater height than the average woman as well as more of “traditional male” traits such as ambition and assertiveness.
How much of “traditional male” traits are the result of societal pressures and diktats, rather than biology? Let’s call ambition and assertiveness admirable human traits.
There are currently five areas of the world designated as Blue Zones. They are Okinawa in Japan, Sardinia, the Nicoya peninsula in Costa Rica, Loma Linda in California and Ikaria in Greece.
To qualify as a Blue Zone, an area must have the highest life expectancy at middle age or the most centenarians per 1,000. Residents in these areas have a life expectancy that is approximately a decade longer than the Western averages.
Researchers studying these populations, including Professor Michel Poulain who created the name Blue Zone, have identified particular aspects of a healthy lifestyle that could be replicated elsewhere, possibly leading to a general increase in life expectancy.
In Ikaria, the lifestyle includes fresh air, afternoon naps, sex, a relatively low-calorie diet and a strong, enduring sense of community and fellowship.
It’s been a while since I’ve been on my high horse (hahaha) about this, so here’s another installment in the chronicle of “It’s a tall life – living in a short world.”
Strollers! Who would have thought they would be built without adjustable-height handles and designed so low to the ground that a simple walk to the shops results in extreme hunchback syndrome?
It’s one thing to consider accessibility to all (ie, those in wheelchairs as well as those on two feet) when building or designing, but it’s another to not consider the other end of the spectrum as well.
Bathroom stalls and shower doors/screens definitely come under this category.
At times amusing, the reflexive shock my height often produces when I stand up in a public place has become something I notice, but (mostly) no longer let bother me.