What Determines Height?
Height
is an important factor in our life. Being tall boosts our confidence,
helps us have better relationships, and can even help your career.
People typically reach their full height during puberty, but it's
possible for an adult who eats right, gets enough sleep, and exercises
regularly to gain another 2-3 inches.
Height is determined primarily by your genes, though others factors such as nutrition and overall health can also come into play. Though many of the factors that determine your height are out of your control, there are still a few things you can do to maximize your growth potential. One major predictor of height is how long bones like the femur (in the upper leg), tibia and fibular (in the lower leg) become. These bones have "growth plates" areas at their ends that have space allowing elongation. When these plates "close," those bones have reached their maximum length.
Before those plates close, however, you can use the following techniques and exercises to help you grow taller.
Height is determined primarily by your genes, though others factors such as nutrition and overall health can also come into play. Though many of the factors that determine your height are out of your control, there are still a few things you can do to maximize your growth potential. One major predictor of height is how long bones like the femur (in the upper leg), tibia and fibular (in the lower leg) become. These bones have "growth plates" areas at their ends that have space allowing elongation. When these plates "close," those bones have reached their maximum length.
Before those plates close, however, you can use the following techniques and exercises to help you grow taller.
The Role of Genes in Determining Height
Height
is a heritable attribute, which means that it's influenced by many
completely different genes. This is particularly true once gender enters
into the equation since women are, on average, shorter than men.
However, having two short parents does not necessarily mean you will be short, just as having two tall parents does not necessarily mean you will be super tall. However, if most of the individuals on either side of your family are short, odds are that you will be too. Do not be discouraged, though! The reality is that you simply cannot know how tall you will be till you reach full physical adulthood in your middle twenties.
How to calculate your projected height.
However, having two short parents does not necessarily mean you will be short, just as having two tall parents does not necessarily mean you will be super tall. However, if most of the individuals on either side of your family are short, odds are that you will be too. Do not be discouraged, though! The reality is that you simply cannot know how tall you will be till you reach full physical adulthood in your middle twenties.
How to calculate your projected height.
- Add up your mom and dad's heights (in inches or cm).
- Add five inches (13 cm) if you are a boy; deduct five inches (13 cm) if you are a girl.
- Divide by two.
How to Avoid Stunting Your Growth
While
there's a limit to what you can do to increase your height, there are
still a number of steps you can take to make sure that environmental
influences do not stunt your growth. Teenage drug and alcohol
consumption can negatively affect development, and medical conditions
such as hypothyroidism, hypogonadism, childhood arthritis, and growth
hormone abnormalities can have a dramatic affect on height. In addition
to these congenital problems, what you eat and drink can also have an
affect on your height.
- Coffee. When I was growing up my parents would never let me have coffee because it was thought to stunt growth. Scientific study shows that not to be the case, though. At the same time, caffeine does have a higher chance of disrupting your sleep. Children and adolescents need around 9 1/2 hours of sleep, and caffeine could hurt your ability to get that much.
- Smoking. While the impact of smoking and second-hand on body mass index (BMI) is not definitive, current evidence suggests that young people who smoke, or are exposed to second-hand smoke, are on average shorter than those who do not smoke or are not exposed to second-hand smoke.
- Steroids. In addition to lowering sperm count, decreasing breast size, elevating blood pressure, and increasing the risk of heart disease, anabolic steroids inhibit bone growth in growing teenagers. Children and teenagers who suffer from respiratory illness like asthma and rely on steroid-based inhalers are half an inch shorter compared to others who do not use it.
The Effect of Sleep on Height
Analysis
suggests that growing teenagers and pre-teens need between eight and
eleven hours of sleep a night. To ensure you get enough sleep, make your
sleeping environment as calm as possible, by eliminating loud noises
and unessential light sources. If you have trouble falling asleep, try
taking a bath or drinking a cup of herbal tea before bed.
The growth hormone (HGH) is produced naturally in the pituitary gland during deep or slow wave sleep. As a result, getting good, sound sleep can encourage the production of HGH.
Some doctors have conducted studies to see whether HGH treatments can spur growth, though the results were modest and fairly costly. Any such treatment should only be performed by a licensed and authorized physician. Avoid any HGH creams, powders, pills or non-prescription injections that you can buy on the internet, since they are likely unapproved and have unknown side effects.
The growth hormone (HGH) is produced naturally in the pituitary gland during deep or slow wave sleep. As a result, getting good, sound sleep can encourage the production of HGH.
Some doctors have conducted studies to see whether HGH treatments can spur growth, though the results were modest and fairly costly. Any such treatment should only be performed by a licensed and authorized physician. Avoid any HGH creams, powders, pills or non-prescription injections that you can buy on the internet, since they are likely unapproved and have unknown side effects.
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