Some folk have all the luck! Tall people are genetically more likely to be slim

• International study analysed DNA of people from 14 European countries
• It found people from tall nations seem to have DNA that keep them slim
• The inverse is also true, with countries in which people are shorter than average also having more than their fair share of obesity genes
• Britons are classed as being neither tall nor short, and differences in diet are more important than genetics in creating BMI differences

By Fiona Macrae Science Correspondent For The Daily Mail

Published: 11:49 EST, 14 September 2015 | Updated: 12:06 EST, 14 September 2015

It is another reason to look up to tall people.

Research shows that nations blessed with genes for height also seem to have DNA that keep them slim.

The inverse is also true, with countries in which people are shorter than average also having more than their fair share of obesity genes.

Research shows that nations blessed with genes for height also seem to have DNA that keep them slim. A file image of supermodel Helena Christensen, who is 5ft 10 inches (1.78 metres) and comes from Denmark, considered a 'tall' nation, is shown

In other words, there is some science behind the stereotype of the tall, skinny Scandinavian and the short, stout Greek.

The find comes from analysis of the DNA of the inhabitants of 14 European countries, including the UK.

‘Among population differences in allele frequency are expected to create genetic differences in height, such that people from the Netherlands are on average one centimetre taller than those from Italy, and genetic differences in BMI, such that, on average, the BMIs for people from Italy and Denmark differ by 0.2 units’ the researchers explained in the paper. 

Britons lie somewhere in between.

Researcher Tim Spector, of King’s College London, said: ‘We are not the tallest and we are not the shortest.

‘We are close to being the fattest but we are not the fattest’.

Professor Spector, who was part of an international gene of researchers, some of whom were from the University of Queensland, said that in different nations, evolution seems to have found different ways of keeping the body supplied with energy.

The researchers found a link between height and BMI in European countries, with the estimated height (a) and observed height (b) showing Scandinavians are tall and Italians shorter, while the estimated and observed BMI (c and d) show taller nations tend to be slimmer

In southern Europe, it may have been an advantage to have fat reserves to burn off when times were tough. Rotund types (illustrated with a stock image) survived famines and may also have been deemed more attractive, meaning they had more children and their genes lived on

So, in southern Europe, it may have been an advantage to have fat reserves to burn off when times were tough.

Rotund types survived famines and may also have been deemed more attractive, meaning they had more children and their genes lived on.

In contrast, in northern Europe, nature seems to have favoured growing upwards rather than outwards, the journal Nature Genetics reports.

Although the study looked at individual nations, Professor Spector says the average tall Briton will also likely have more a generous helping of thin genes.

Those not blessed with fat-burning DNA needn't lose heart.

The study also revealed that the main reason Britons are fatter than most other Europeans, including the French, has nothing to do with our DNA.

University of Exeter researcher Tim Frayling, said that the differing body shapes have more to do with lifestyle than genes.

Professor Frayling said: ‘We are fatter than the French predominately because we have a poorer lifestyle – presumably a less healthy diet – than because of differences in British and French DNA.

'We need to eat more like the French.'

Tall nations included Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden and each of these nations had lower BMIs (plotted on these graphs). At the opposite end of the scale, Spanish people were found to be shorter and their BMI was higher. Italians were of slightly shorter than average and had a BMI slightly higher than average

University of Exeter researcher Tim Frayling, said that the differing body shapes have more to do with lifestyle than genes and suggested we eat more like the French. A cafe in France is shown

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