height/growth

[Taxman10]

is this true?

Nov 12, 2012 16:03:22 GMT -5 midjd said:

Milee, I hear you (I'm 5'2" on a tall day).

The utter irony is that all the dieting I did in my early teens to try to keep my weight down is probably what kept me so short. My dad isn't particularly tall, but my brother is 6'0" and my mom and sister are 5'5". Meanwhile I hit my adult height in about 6th grade.

Does dieting during your teen years stunt your height??

I never heard that before, are there any studies or anything?

I guess it makes sense, I just always thought height was genetic??

[milee]

I don't know. Although I wasn't dieting, food was scarce in my house so maybe my height (5'3") was influenced by that? I'm the same height as my mother, though, so could be genes. The men in the family are all over 6', though, as are my younger sisters who had more food in the house.

[Phoenix84]

No scientific studies, but I thought most women reached their full height at about 14.

[Colleenz]

I think the starvation has to be pretty extreme to stunt growth, but I don't have any data.

[Peace77]

Height is not just genetics.
It also includes functioning kidneys (where growth hormone comes from), sufficient growth hormone and sufficient quality food.
It also helps to have non-smoking parents.

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

Nov 12, 2012 17:20:38 GMT -5 Peace77 said:

Height is not just genetics.
It also includes functioning kidneys (where growth hormone comes from), sufficient growth hormone and sufficient quality food.
It also helps to have non-smoking parents.

Poor nutrition -- whether from a lack of healthy foods due to economic circumstances or excessive dieting -- will definitely affect physical development.

[whoami]

I was never a dieter but I wasn't much of an eater either. I was always the tallest girl from K up to graduation. I was one of those people who could eat whatever they wanted and never gain an ounce. I'm sure many thought I had some sort of eating disorder but I never have. Unfortunately as I've gotten older my metabolism isn't want it used to be so I'm much more careful about what I eat otherwise I will gain weight.

[quince]

Poor nutrition- makes sense it would have an effect.

[kgb18]

Does dieting during your teen years stunt your height??

I believe extreme dieting and/or really strenuous physical activity can delay and sometimes stunt growth.

Look at gymnasts. Their level of physical activity and diet causes them to stay very small. Puberty is delayed. Once they retire from the sport, they usually have a bit of a growth spurt, but they still seem to remain very petite.

[midjd]

I've just always assumed it had something to do with my diet... I was an extremely picky eater and my parents didn't force it. I also had an eating disorder for about 6 years (HS-early college). Then I found out I had a thyroid nodule, had it removed, and since then I've been able to eat whatever I want and not gain weight.

Maybe I was meant to be short, but I'm sure my diet during my early years didn't help. I eat much more healthily now.

My sister was a competitive gymnast for almost 12 years and is still a few inches taller than me.

[zibazinski]

I'm with you about gymnasts and petite. I'm sure that's why I am. I'm the only one in my family that isn't tall or big bones/ fat.

[Miss Tequila]

My mom is 5'5" (or so she claims) and my dad, at 5'8", is the tallest in his family. I had anorexia from 12 until about 15 or 16....but I'm 5'8.5"...

[alabamagal]

The reason all the competitive gymnasts are short is that the tall ones can't do as well and drop out, or get sent over to the basketball coach (that was me!). I think diet and exercise can have some effect, but it is probably pretty small. Better diet and nutrition for the entire population has caused the average height in developed countries to increase a couple of inches over the last century.

Genetics plays a big factor in your height, but it is not that it is a tall/short single gene kind of thing. So children can end up taller or shorter than their parent, or somewhere in between.

[Deleted]

Dad is 6'2", Mom is 5"1" and the girls range in height from 5'3" to 5'8". My brother is 6'1".

[bean29]

I was told DD's growth plates were closed when she was about 12. DD is a smidge shorter than me. I have not grown since I was 12 either. DD did not even know what a diet was until she was 13 or 14.

I was told DS's growth plates were closed when he was about 17. He is 19 now and he has not grown any more.

I think I agree that the key is sustained lack of good nutrition, not "dieting".

[Deleted]

My oldest sister was 4'11" when she graduated HS. She had a growth spurt over that summer and hit 5'6".

[Formerly SK]

We've seen a bazillion doctors because DD is considered Failure To Thrive (at 6.5yo she is 34 lbs). Calories/nutrition first go to the brain, then height, then weight. If a child is following the general growth curve (even if they are below it) then nutrition wouldn't affect their height because they are following the statistical curve. Now, if a 10yo is always 50th percentile and in six months suddenly drops to 5th percentile, nutrition/diet could be a factor.

[justme]

I kind of hope there aren't any studies on that. My first thought reading the OP was "I could have dieted and not be as tall?!?! " even though I've come to accept my height. So finding a study like that when I was in my teens...I honestly think there was a good chance I might have tried it, I think any female that was awkwardly tall would try. Which is not a good thing. Teens don't need anymore reasons to have issues with food.

[formerroomate99]

Since most girls stop growing around 12-14, I don't see this as a factor, unless they were dieting in their tween years (8-12). Though I do remember hearing somewhere that the average age that a girl tries her first diet is around 9.

[Deleted]

DH is 6'5. He keeps telling me stop feeding DS organic ground beef and milk or he's going to end up short.

[thyme4change]

We've seen a bazillion doctors because DD is considered Failure To Thrive (at 6.5yo she is 34 lbs).

Wow - I think my daughter was about that too, but because she was steady in her growth curve, we didn't do much. I will have to go back and look at her numbers. Who knows - maybe she had another 3 or 4 pounds on her and that could be all the difference, after all, that would be a 10%+ difference.

[Iggy aka IG]

To calculate projected height in kiddos, I've heard you take both the parents heights, divide by two, add three inches for men, and subtract 3 for women.

Example for a woman:

Dad: 5'10" = 70 inches
Mom: 5'7" = 66 inches

136 inches /2 = 68 - 3 = 65 = 5'5"

But, as evidenced by the responses above, this formula doesn't always work.

[thyme4change]

I'm 5'8" and my sister is 5'3" - and we are both girls with the same parents. So...the formula is wrong.

[swamp]

Nov 13, 2012 15:21:03 GMT -5 Iggy aka IG said:

To calculate projected height in kiddos, I've heard you take both the parents heights, divide by two, add three inches for men, and subtract 3 for women.

Example for a woman:

Dad: 5'10" = 70 inches
Mom: 5'7" = 66 inches

136 inches /2 = 68 - 3 = 65 = 5'5"

But, as evidenced by the responses above, this formula doesn't always work.

My mom was 5'7", dad was 5'8". They've both shrunk.

My sister is 5'5", my brother is 6', and I'm 5'4".

[Deleted]

I was a failure to thrive for a long time. Maybe I still am. Who knows.

[Deleted]

Nov 13, 2012 10:26:35 GMT -5 Formerly SK said:

We've seen a bazillion doctors because DD is considered Failure To Thrive (at 6.5yo she is 34 lbs). Calories/nutrition first go to the brain, then height, then weight. If a child is following the general growth curve (even if they are below it) then nutrition wouldn't affect their height because they are following the statistical curve. Now, if a 10yo is always 50th percentile and in six months suddenly drops to 5th percentile, nutrition/diet could be a factor.

She must be a peanut. My almost 4 year old is 35 lbs and she is not big.