Body Size, Self-Evaluation, and Military Effectiveness.

In a population on young, healthy Navy men dissatisfaction with height and weight varied directly with deviation from preferred (ideal) height and weight. Dissatisfaction with intellectual level generally varied inversely with intelligence, although within a wide range of GCT scores no relationship was present. Height appeared to have a pervasive effect upon self evaluations generally. ShortUnderweight and Short-Overweight groups had the most unfavorable self-images. Neither height nor weight seemed to have an effect upon military performance except at the extremes. Very short and overweight individuals tended to be both unhappy with themselves and ineffective in performance.