Height and Adult Alcohol Consumption

Previous research has found that shorter men have significantly worse life outcomes than taller men. Using the 1979 version of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, this paper uses maximum likelihood estimations to test whether these worse outcomes translate into shorter men drinking more heavily. Results show that, at ages 29–47, taller men are more likely to drink alcohol, but among drinkers, shorter men drink more often and are more likely to binge drink. Among women, there is no significant relationship between height and alcohol consumption. There are different relationships between height and male alcohol consumption according to education level. Among non-college-graduate men, those who were taller in adolescence are more likely to drink alcohol, but among drinkers, shorter men drink more often and are more likely to binge drink. Among college-graduate men, taller men are more likely to drink alcohol and, among drinkers, binge drink more often. Controlling for earnings, education, cognitive ability, and marital status (factors that previous research has found to be correlated with male height) explains some of the relationship between height and alcohol consumption among male non-college-graduates, but not much, and actually intensifies relationships between height and binge drinking among male college graduates. Controlling for late-adolescent drinking behavior does not explain relationships between height and heavier adult drinking, indicating that the relationship between male height and drinking behavior develops in adulthood.