German writer, scientist, and politician, acclaimed as one of history's greatest geniuses, Johan Wolfgang von Goethe was more than 6 feet tall.
German writer, scientist, and politician, Johan Wolfgang von Goethe, acclaimed as one of history's greatest geniuses, was more than 6 feet tall. Portrair by Joseph Karl Stieler (WikiCommons)

Shorter people are likely to be less intelligent than taller people, according to scientists.

Scientists in London and Edinburgh claim that short people are less likely to have high IQs after they identified genes that influence height and IQ.

It is the first study to analyse the relation between height and intelligence in a large sample of more than unrelated 6,800 people.

Previous studies had focused on the link between intelligence and height in family members.

"What we found was a small association between height and intelligence such that people who are taller tend to be smarter," Riccardo Marioni of Edinburgh University's Institute of Genetic and Molecular Medicine told the Sunday Times.

Researchers from University College London based their findings on data compiled from thousands of people who took part in the Scottish Family Health study between 2006 and 2011, in which intelligence was measured through linguistic ability, memory, and reaction times.

The average height of men in the UK is 5ft 9in (175.26cm) , and that of women 5ft 4in (162.5cm).