The greater the height difference in a couple, the happier the wife is for a time.
That's according to research conducted by Konkuk University in Seoul, South Korea, Sophie Freeman wrote for the Daily Mail. Researchers found a tall husband may be key in making a wife happy.
However, the effect fades, with the height-happiness connect "gradually weakened over time and entirely dissipated by 18 years of marital duration," the Daily Mail reported.
Still, the findings indicate women don't just prefer towering men for evolutionary reasons previously known even if they can't explain why, Adam Boult wrote for The Telegraph.
The Telegraph quoted lead researcher Kitae Sohn as describing one reason a tall husband incites joy.
"One is the intrinsic value of height; that is, women simply like tall men, while unable to say why," Sohn said, according to The Telegraph. "This is similar to people favouring fatty, salty and sugary foods without knowing exactly why: Such foods are essential to survival but were scarce as humans evolved hence craving such foods increased reproductive fitness in the past."
The Konkuk University researchers analyzed data from 7,850 women who completed a long-term population survey, and The Telegraph noted other surveys to back up the link between smiling and sizable spouses.
When asked if height mattered for a 2014 study, 48.9 percent of women insisted on dating men taller than them. Also, only 4 percent of women who participated in a 2007 survey said they'd accept a dating relationship where the woman was taller, according to The Telegraph.
In comparison, 23 percent of men indicated they'd be fine with it.
Donald Acosta wrote for International Business Times of another interesting tidbit of the study: Sohn stated more fertile women most looked for height in men.
"Women evolved to prefer tall men because they were perceived to be stronger, and naturally they are happy when they have what they like," IBT quoted Sohn as saying. "But as for other desired objects, pleasure from having them dissipates. What was surprising is that the complete dissipation took 18 years. Still, for the first two decades of the relationship at least 'male height has a powerful impact.'"
A 2014 study also analyzed how men's height influences the course of their relationships, Taryn Hillin wrote for The Huffington Post. That one found "major differences in relationship patterns" between tall and short men.
The thesis: short men were found to marry later in life while being less likely to divorce, while tall men married sooner and were more likely to divorce, the Post indicated.
"Demographic processes" might be key in that, the study's researchers stated.
"Marriage and divorce have implications for socioeconomic stratification and asset accumulation," the Post quoted the researchers as saying. "Our observed effects suggest that mens height may indirectly affect their economic status and socioeconomic mobility through these demographic processes."
That's according to research conducted by Konkuk University in Seoul, South Korea, Sophie Freeman wrote for the Daily Mail. Researchers found a tall husband may be key in making a wife happy.
However, the effect fades, with the height-happiness connect "gradually weakened over time and entirely dissipated by 18 years of marital duration," the Daily Mail reported.
Still, the findings indicate women don't just prefer towering men for evolutionary reasons previously known even if they can't explain why, Adam Boult wrote for The Telegraph.
The Telegraph quoted lead researcher Kitae Sohn as describing one reason a tall husband incites joy.
"One is the intrinsic value of height; that is, women simply like tall men, while unable to say why," Sohn said, according to The Telegraph. "This is similar to people favouring fatty, salty and sugary foods without knowing exactly why: Such foods are essential to survival but were scarce as humans evolved hence craving such foods increased reproductive fitness in the past."
The Konkuk University researchers analyzed data from 7,850 women who completed a long-term population survey, and The Telegraph noted other surveys to back up the link between smiling and sizable spouses.
When asked if height mattered for a 2014 study, 48.9 percent of women insisted on dating men taller than them. Also, only 4 percent of women who participated in a 2007 survey said they'd accept a dating relationship where the woman was taller, according to The Telegraph.
In comparison, 23 percent of men indicated they'd be fine with it.
Donald Acosta wrote for International Business Times of another interesting tidbit of the study: Sohn stated more fertile women most looked for height in men.
"Women evolved to prefer tall men because they were perceived to be stronger, and naturally they are happy when they have what they like," IBT quoted Sohn as saying. "But as for other desired objects, pleasure from having them dissipates. What was surprising is that the complete dissipation took 18 years. Still, for the first two decades of the relationship at least 'male height has a powerful impact.'"
A 2014 study also analyzed how men's height influences the course of their relationships, Taryn Hillin wrote for The Huffington Post. That one found "major differences in relationship patterns" between tall and short men.
The thesis: short men were found to marry later in life while being less likely to divorce, while tall men married sooner and were more likely to divorce, the Post indicated.
"Demographic processes" might be key in that, the study's researchers stated.
"Marriage and divorce have implications for socioeconomic stratification and asset accumulation," the Post quoted the researchers as saying. "Our observed effects suggest that mens height may indirectly affect their economic status and socioeconomic mobility through these demographic processes."