A recent research has revealed that people who are shorter are more at risk of developing a chronic lung disease called Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, or COPD.

For the sake of study, researchers at the University of Nottingham analyzed records of over a million people over the age of 35, which were all collected from a database called the Health Improvement Network.

Previously, studies have been able to find a strong link between "adult height and the risk of developing Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)", but they still wanted to assess if better living conditions managed to change this.

Their study then revealed the people with COPD were an average of about 1.12 cm shorter, and the link between height and the disease was most strong in patients in the age groups of 35 and
49.

"We need to make it easier for people from disadvantaged backgrounds to make positive life choices and improvements to their health - whether it be eating well or stopping smoking", said Professor Mike Morgan, from the British Thoracic Society.

Details of the study have been published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.