Size matters

Ask a tall woman if she'd swap her 36in legs for a shorter pair and she'd probably say no. But that doesn't mean they don't cause her grief.

Being female and tall doesn't just cause problems finding trousers long enough and shoes to fit. It can also make it hell in the dating arena.

The average British man is 5ft 9in - 6in taller than the average woman. And that's how men like it. Put simply: taller women intimidate them.

Just look at the stats. One survey found that women were most likely to be married and have children if they were below 5ft 3in.

Short changed

It's not just that men don't like taller women. There are not many women who want to go out with someone shorter than them. Women want to feel protected and a man who comes up to their armpit doesn't quite cut it.

So what should women who exceed the height of the average man do? One option is to move abroad. Just don't head east, where you'll be in danger of encountering Sars-man, otherwise known as 'Short And Really Short'.

The average Asian man is a mere 5ft 5in, with your standard Vietnamese chap reaching an even more meagre 5ft. Instead, head to Holland, where men are on average more than 1.5in taller than their British counterparts.

But what about the long lady who doesn't want to travel the Seven Seas to find her man? Does it leave her dateless and desperate with only her Long Tall Sally catalogue to leaf through? Thankfully, no.

Tall order

There are ways of finding a tall Briton, one of which is through the specialist dating sites. Tallfriends.com specialises in introducing taller people and there is even an option on the registration form to specify the desired height of your future beau - right up to 7ft 11in. Once registered, you have access to thousands of eligible giants just waiting to check out your own vital statistics.

Sadly, speed-dating events haven't caught the tall bug yet, despite there being events that specialise in age, religion, nationality and sexuality.

But that doesn't have to be a problem. You can make your man taller after you have pulled him by buying him the height-increasing device known as YOKO (available from www.gainheight.com).

Guaranteeing to increase height in just three months in a 'safe, effective and affordable way', YOKO works by stimulating the nerve points on the soles of the feet, thereby causing the pituitary gland to release growth hormones.

Devised rather appropriately by scientists in Japan, where perhaps the demand is greater, the wearer is advised to insert the insoles into his or her shoes for 30min a day to increase height by anything from 1in to 3.5in. For only £23 and not a growth hormone in sight, it's certainly an option.

So being lofty doesn't necessarily mean lonely as well. The best thing to do is walk tall whatever height you are and don't lower your standards or your heels.