Abstract
Body height and other body attributes of humans may be associated with a diverse range of social outcomes such as attractiveness to potential mates. Despite evidence that each parameter plays a role in mate choice, we have little understanding of the relative role of each, and relationships between indices of physical appearance and general health. In this study we tested relationships between immune function and body height of young men and women. In men, we report a non-linear relationship between antibody response to a hepatitis-B vaccine and body height, with a positive relationship up to a height of 185 cm, but an inverse relationship in taller men. We did not find any significant relationship between body height and immune function in women. Our results demonstrate the potential of vaccination research to reveal costly traits that govern evolution of mate choice in humans and the importance of trade-offs among these traits.
Highlights
Body height and other body attributes of humans may be associated with a diverse range of social outcomes such as attractiveness to potential mates
We did not find any significant relationship between body height and immune function in women
Humans lack extravagant secondary sexual ornaments, but mate preferences rely on substantial sexual dimorphism in body size and shape and a number of other morphological traits
Summary
Body height and other body attributes of humans may be associated with a diverse range of social outcomes such as attractiveness to potential mates. In this study we tested relationships between immune function and body height of young men and women. Only high quality males can afford to allocate resources to better immunity and attractive secondary sexual traits simultaneously (the ‘‘immunocompetence handicap hypothesis’’ ICHH6). There has been relatively little work on a potential influence of sexual selection on body height in men and women. The aim of the research was to identify associations between body height and immune function of young men and women in the least developed area of Latvia, where trade-offs between growth and general health may affect the size of secondary sexual traits. We did not expect such a relationship in young women since our previous study found that women’s adiposity and facial attractiveness do not correlate with immune responsiveness in terms of www.nature.com/scientificreports hepatitis B antibody production[14]. More than 600 000 people die every year due to the acute or chronic consequences of hepatitis B16
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