Animation of the structure of a section of DNA. The bases lie horizontally between the two spiraling strands. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Height:
Height is a quality of the body that draws a lot of attention.
As noted, there are two aspects to height- your actual height at any age, and the rate of growth.
Normal actual height at any age is defined by a range of normal. The most important word here is range.
For example, at 5 months of age, a male infant could be anywhere from 24-28 inches long and have perfectly normal height, even though the average is 26 inches. That range of 24-28 includes about 95% of all male 5 month olds. But not all. About 1 in 20 very healthy, very normal 5 month olds will be a bit less than 24 inches long or more than 28 inches long.
When it comes to rate of growth, there is more uniformity. By age 2 or 3 years old, up to puberty, most children, boys and girls, grow about 2-2 1/2 inches a year. Interestingly, that rate is pretty much the same whether the child is tall or short. So kids destined to be 6 feet tall and those destined to be 5 feet tall both grow about 2-2 1/2 inches a year.
Last point on normality: the percentiles are fun to observe and watch, and to share with family and friends, but by themselves, there is no “normal” percentile. It is just as normal to be at the 10th percentile for height as it is the 90th. As noted below, it is the actual height and rate of growth that determine if there should be concern, not the percentiles in the normal range.
2. The height is too low
As noted above, actual height has a bigger range than rate of growing. Again, thinking about the 5 month old, there is an average height at that age in boys of 26 inches, but the range is 24-28 to cover about 95% of all boys this age. We would typically say any height in the range that covers 95% of people is normal, but if it is far less, it does raise concern and should be evaluated.
What Can Be Done to Get Taller
As already mentioned, it is very hard to change your height upwards. Since height is set by complex mechanisms set forth by one’s DNA, boosted nutrition, extra nutrients, special exercises, and/or customized herbal mixes cannot increase your height.
The only mechanism yet proven to be able to increase a well-fed person’s height is growth hormone.
Growth hormone works by turning on the division of various cells in the body, mainly bone cells.
But even when daily injections of growth hormone are given to a child, sometimes there is no increase in the eventual outcome of that child’s height, dramatically demonstrating how hard wired a person’s growth is.
A mention should be made of the special case of growth hormone deficiency. Some children have a deficiency in this hormone and they typically will have lower than normal rates of height gain that lead to evaluation, as outlined above. Or they may present with very short stature. Injections of growth hormone are the only known treatment for this condition, but even in this setting, some children do not grow faster, although most do.
BOTTOM LINES
1. Height is set very firmly by each person’s DNA.
2. One’s final height can be shortened by severe malnutrition or serious diseases, but in healthy children it is very difficult to increase their ultimate height.
3. That is, special diets and exercises and medications cannot increase height, with the sole exception of growth hormone.
4. The use of growth hormone is a very serious intervention that subjects the child to daily injections and exposure to a powerful hormone. It should not be used except after very careful evaluation.
5. The concept of normal for height is defined by a range of actual height and of rate of height growth at any age.
6. Most boys end up somewhere between their Mom’s height plus 5 inches, and their Dad’s height.
7. Most girls end up somewhere between their Mom’s height and Dad’s height minus 5 inches.
Dr. Arthur Lavin
*Disclaimer* The comments contained in this electronic source of information do not constitute and are not designed to imply that they constitute any form of individual medical advice. The information provided is purely for informational purposes only and not relevant to any person’s particular medical condition or situation. If you have any medical concerns about yourself or your family please contact your physician immediately. In order to provide our patients the best uninfluenced information that science has to offer,we do not accept samples of drugs, advertising tchotchkes, money, food, or any item from outside vendors.
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