Ex-Sixers' deaths highlight height-longevity link
Three big men die within a year at 64, 58 and 60, which bears out scientific studies.
FIRST it was Caldwell Jones, back in September of 2014 at the age of 64. Less than 3 weeks ago, it was Darryl Dawkins at the age of 58. Then, yesterday, it was Moses Malone at the age of 60.
It is a horrible coincidence, the deaths of three former Sixers big men in such a short period of time, but it serves to highlight a link that scientists have identified and studied for decades, the link between height and longevity.
A study of baseball players published in 2002 said that a typical major leaguer who stood 5-5 lived to around the age of 80 while a typical player who was 6-6 didn't make it to age 70. An inverse relationship between height and longevity also was found in a study of French men and women.
A 1999 study said that people with some of the longest life spans came from countries - Japan, Hong Kong, China and Greece - where the average height and weight is less than that of people in northern European and North American countries. Southern Europeans, who are shorter are on average than northern Europeans, have lower death rates from coronary heart disease. Greeks and Italians in Australia live longer than taller native Australians. And on and on the studies go.
Malone was found dead in a hotel room yesterday morning in Norfolk, Va. Hotel staff were called to the room after Malone failed to show up for a breakfast before a celebrity golf tournament. Norfolk police said there were "no signs of foul play."
- Rich Hofmann