What is even considered as being tall? As someone that is 6 foot 3, I consider myself to be tall, or at least taller than the average person. I was always taller than most people in my class, and I live in Spain now so I am a lot taller than the average man over here, but I also have family from Sudan, so I also have some real giants in my family.
The average height of men around the world is 5’8, or 171cm, so I would say that anyone 5’10 or taller would be considered tall, and if you are over 6 feet tall then you are among the tallest people in the world, and there are actually quite a lot of us.
Standing on a train, I am usually taller than most and could see across the carriage, and never saw more than a few other people the same height or taller than me. The same when I am just out walking, there are never that many people of the same height so after a while I kind of figured I was taller than the average person.
What are the advantages of being tall?
There are many advantages to being tall, like reaching for the top shelf or finding my daughter in a crowd when she decides to run off without warning! I have created a list of advantages of being tall. These are based on my own personal experiences, and some of these reasons may also have some scientific backing which I will make mention of.
1- Tall people are taken more seriously
Not a matter of belief but actually a fact, that if you are taller others will correlate this directly with your confidence levels. If you are taller than the average person, people you interact with will generally perceive you as being more confident and take you more seriously as a result.
This doesn’t mean though that everyone that is tall is confident, but on face value, you will more often than not have the advantage of people thinking this before you even have to open your mouth. But after that its up to you to not mess up that advantage, because tall or not, we all have our own insecurities.
2- Tall people earn more money
This is actually something that has been backed by science, and unfair as it may seem it is true that tall people on average earn more. A British study found that for every 1 inch above the average height you will earn around an extra 800 a year.
That is quite a lot of difference, and I can say from my experience that I earn quite a lot more than my counterparts, though I do work harder than most, but my height may have played a part in this and there is not really a way of me knowing this.
3- Tall people are easily spotted in a crowd
This is a more practical advantage of being tall, but useful nonetheless. I have three kids, and if they ever get lost in a crowd it would be easier for them to be able to spot me, and the same the other way around. All of my kids are also pretty tall, so it is easy for me to spot them in a crowd and this makes me feel a lot more secure when we are out in crowded places.4- Tall people have healthier hearts
Here is a health benefit of being tall, and quite an important one. A study where over a million people were involved showed that taller people have a lower risk of developing heart disease.
5- You are more attractive to the opposite sex if you are tall
You have for sure seen the question “are women attracted to taller men?” come up on many occasions, and the obvious answer is yes, in general, exceptions to this will always exist but women do tend to prefer men that are taller than them.
It is obviously more complex than women simply being attracted to men because they are tall, but at first sight, most women do seem to prefer a taller man, but there will also need to be more depth to the person once you get to know them.
6- Tall people may live longer
The evidence for this may not be as definitive as some of the other advantages of being tall, but there are some studies that suggest if you are 6’2 or above in height, then you are expected to live up to 7 years longer than someone with a height of 5’6 or less.
That being said, you will still need to lead a healthy lifestyle, and just by nature of being tall does not mean you do not need to take care of yourself.
7- Tall people are more likely to get a job
Height is a really popular topic, so there are studies performed on every aspect of it, and some studies show that if you are taller, you are more likely to get the jobs you go for. This would be a combination of all the other advantages we are talking about here, and not simply getting a job because you are tall, unless the job itself requires you to be tall.
It is all about first impressions, so if you are confident and carry yourself in such a way that this is perceivable externally, then adding height to this is definitely an advantage when you walk in to a room, people will take notice.
8- Tall people are or perceived to be more authoritative
Taller people are perceived to be more authoritative for obvious reasons. You are larger, more intimidating, come across as more confident, so a combination of reasons will make a tall person have more authority in their interactions, or at least give the perception. I can get my point across a lot easier when having a discussion due to all of these reasons, so I know this to be true.
9- Tall people are less likely to suffer from depression
A study I read once when I was actually dealing with depression myself stated that for every 2.5 inches of height you have above the average person, you are 20% less likely to suffer from depression. But I would take this with a pinch of salt because we all have our problems, and when we are hurting we are doing just that.
It may be that with the other advantages you have from being tall can make you less likely to fall into situations where depression is present, but I would not say it is as simple as being tall and you are always happy.
10- Tall people can reach things easily
This is both a blessing and a curse at times. Sure at home or when I am at a store I can reach things on the top shelves most of the time, but I am also always being asked to reach for stuff, or to put a suitcase in an overhead compartment. I enjoy helping others of course, but it just becomes a given that you are always going to help people reach for things when they see you in public and need a hand. Thankfully everyone in my house is tall so they can reach for their own cereal now.
11- Tall people are less likely to suffer from dementia
This is a tall person’s advantage backed up by science. Studies show that for every 2.5 inches of height the risk of developing dementia is reduced by 16%. And in general, tall people are 30% less likely to get dementia during their lifetime.
12- Tall men are more likely to become CEO´s
A study involving over a million Swedish men concluded that among other attributes like skill, intelligence, people skills, being tall gives you quite the advantage if you are wanting to become the chief executive officer of a company.
The average height of the participants in this study was 5´10, but the men who actually ended up becoming CEO`s of a company were all 6’ and above, so being tall will definitely give you an advantage when climbing up the corporate ladder.
13- Tall people are generally happier
According to a study done in 2008, tall people report being happier overall. Taller men are less likely to exhibit outward signs of anger or sadness, and this is owing to the overall feelings and benefits you have as a taller person.
As a taller man myself, sure I get sad at times and this is natural for everyone. But I can definitely tell you that in general I feel happier because I am taller, stronger, fitter, perceived better by people in general and have a lot going for me as a tall man. Not to say if you are a shorter man you don´t, but I count myself lucky and this keeps me more upbeat in general.
14- Taller men have competitive advantages in a lot of sports
This one is pretty obvious, because if you watch sports like basketball, long jump, volleyball, even the 100m dash, taller men have all the advantages here. It is not the same with all sports of course, some are just skill related, but if you are taller you are much more likely to be successful as a professional athlete.
15- Taller men are less likely to suffer violence
No this is definitely just perception, because I have done contact sports my whole life, and I know some wrestlers half my size that can manhandle me to a degree I find very emasculating! It doesn’t matter if you are 8 feet tall, a 5 foot guy with a black belt in jiu-jitsu will quite easily take your pride away if you are untrained, but these are the exceptions.
In general, if you have two untrained people, and one is a lot taller than the other, the taller person will generally come out on top without the need for any violence. The perception of a larger person being able to inflict damage is enough to discourage most people from wanting to snatch your wallet.
16- Taller people are more successful in the fashion industry
Want to become a model? Then height is going to play a big part in your success. As much as this may seem unfair, it just is this way. Tall men will look better in a suit as tall women will look better in a long dress, that’s just the way it is for aesthetics. I have a daughter that is 5´11 and I get to see this example every day and see how this makes her more confident in the clothes she wears.
17- Taller people are less likely to be overweight
Now of course this is not as simple as all tall people are slim, but we have a larger body therefore burn more calories as a standard. Especially if you do sports as a taller person, you have more volume to move around, so again you burn more energy. But of course, you still need to have a good diet and eat good foods. Tall or not, if you eat donuts and chips all day then you will get fat no matter your height.
18- Tall people are more likely to get jobs of a physical nature
If you are tall, you are more likely to get selected for jobs in the military, the police force, as a fireman. This is in no way a slight to people that are short, it’s just more practical for jobs that are going to involve crowd work or climbing over walls and stuff. I did security in my younger days, and I know for sure my height and size in general was a contributing factor in getting employed.
You will also generally see taller, bigger guys in jobs like construction, miners, sewage workers and the like just because these jobs are very demanding and require a lot of
19- Tall people get places quicker
This is just math’s, that if you have longer legs, you have a longer stride, so you will literally get to places quicker than someone with shorter legs with a smaller stride. Again, everyone in my house is pretty tall so we all walk pretty fast, but when walking with someone significantly shorter than me, I have to be mindful and shorten my stride or lower my walking pace.
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Final thoughts on the advantages of being tall
Some of the obvious advantages like reaching the top shelf, painting a ceiling, having longer strides are a given and don’t need much analysis, you can see why these are advantages. But there are others like having more confidence, being happier, being chosen for a job over a shorter person that I have thought through, and I feel it is not simply down to how many inches you measure.
I can say that up to date, I have never not gotten the job for any interview I have ever attended, and do I feel like my height played a part on this, yes I do, but there is more to it.
If as a taller man, I really own it and feel more confident this will show in my attitude and people will see this also and get that perception. If I really believe in myself that I have an advantage over everyone because I am a taller man and behave like it, wake up earlier, workout harder, study more, smile more, help others more, then this translates to me having an overall good and strong personality, and if I project this and everyone sees this, then why would you not give me the job.
As well as being more employable as a taller man, if all the above is true, and I do lean in to all the perceived advantages a taller man supposedly has, then women will notice my height of course, but as they get to know me they see all the other traits I have as a person, so my height may be the initial attractor, but I have worked on myself as a whole to make sure I can keep this person’s attention.
I am 6´3, not a giant and I have friends that are taller but not as confident as I am. This is because I accept my advantages, and work on them along with my weaknesses. So when someone tells me that I got something just because of my height, I remind them that I wake up at 5.30 every day and work out, come home and make breakfast for my family, work hard at my job and also on my side hustles to gain my own freedom.
And after all of this is done, I still work to educate myself on general and niche topics, do what I can to help others, try and pass this information on to my kids and anyone willing to listen, so before you judge and think we simply have an advantage because we are taller than you, read the whole book and don’t just browse the cover.
Now I would also like to point out that it’s not all sunshine and rainbows, there are also some disadvantages to being tall, but I will discuss this in this post.
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