Buzz
You might feel like your friends are suddenly growing taller, leaving you behind. Perhaps other family members are tall, and you're wondering if there's anything you can do to catch up. The truth is, a person's height is largely determined by factors beyond their control, such as genetics. However, there are several factors during your teenage years that you can influence, like diet and activity levels, which can impact your height.
Steps
To Grow Taller
Maintain a balanced diet. People often appear shorter when they have a rounder body. Additionally, a slim figure achieved through proper nutrition can make you look taller [1] and feel more energetic!
- Include plenty of lean proteins. Lean proteins like poultry, fish, soy, and dairy help build muscle and strengthen bones. Avoid simple carbs like pizza, cakes, sweets, and sodas.
- Consume calcium-rich foods. Calcium, found in leafy greens like spinach and kale, as well as in dairy products (yogurt and milk), promotes strong bones.
- Ensure adequate zinc intake. Although not entirely conclusive, studies suggest a potential link between zinc deficiency and stunted growth in boys. Great sources of zinc include oysters, wheat germ, pumpkin seeds, lamb, peanuts, and crab.
- Get enough vitamin D. Vitamin D supports bone and muscle growth in children, and its deficiency has been linked to delayed growth and weight gain in teenage girls. Foods rich in vitamin D include fish, alfalfa, mushrooms, and fortified products like milk and breakfast cereals. However, most vitamin D is absorbed through sunlight exposure. Just 15 minutes of sun daily can provide the necessary amount.
Exercise regularly during your teenage and adolescent years. Consistent physical activity can help you grow taller during your teenage years. Get outside and work your muscles for at least 30 minutes every day.
- Join a gym class. Enrolling in a gym class gives you access to various exercise machines and muscle-building equipment. It also provides motivation to work out (you’ll feel out of place if you’re at the gym and not exercising).
- Join a sports team. Those who participate in sports can harness their natural competitive spirit to burn calories and potentially grow taller. The best part about joining a team is that half the time, you won’t even realize you’re exercising.
- If nothing else, go for a walk. If you don’t have time for anything else, get up and walk. Walk to the grocery store. Walk to the library. Walk to school.
Get enough sleep every night. Sleep is the ideal time for your body to grow, so ensuring you get enough rest gives your body more time to develop. Aim for 9 to 11 hours of sleep each night if you’re a teenager or under 20 years old.
- Growth hormone (HGH) is naturally produced in our bodies, especially during deep or slow-wave sleep. Quality sleep stimulates HGH production in the pituitary gland.
Understand that most of your height is determined by genetics. Scientists estimate that 60 to 80% of your height is predetermined by your genes. Unfortunately, not everyone has the genes for being tall. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t grow taller if your parents are short; it simply means you’re more likely to be shorter if your parents are.
Avoid stunting your growth. While there’s not much you can do to increase your height, you can take steps to ensure your natural growth isn’t hindered by environmental factors. Stimulants and alcohol can contribute to stunted growth if consumed during your developmental years, and malnutrition can also prevent you from reaching your maximum height.
- Does caffeine really stunt your growth? Scientific research shows that no, caffeine does not stunt growth. However, caffeine can make it harder to get regular, restful sleep. Children and teenagers need about 9-10 hours of sleep, and caffeine can make it difficult to achieve that.
- Does smoking stunt growth? The effects of smoking and secondhand smoke on body mass index (BMI) remain inconclusive. According to Columbia University’s Health Information, "While studies have not been entirely conclusive, current research suggests that children who smoke or are exposed to secondhand smoke tend to be shorter than those who do not."
- Do steroids stunt growth? Absolutely. Anabolic steroids inhibit bone growth in children and teenagers, reduce sperm count, decrease breast size in females, increase blood pressure, and raise the risk of heart attacks. Children and teenagers with asthma who use inhalers containing small doses of the steroid budesonide are, on average, 1.3 cm shorter than those not treated with steroids.
Most people stop growing in their early twenties. Many young people look at themselves and wonder, "Have I stopped growing yet?" If you’re under 18, the answer is likely, "Not yet!" You haven’t stopped growing if you haven’t gone through puberty. Feel fortunate that you still have time to grow rather than worrying about how tall you’ll be.
Enhance your height appearance
Practice proper posture. Always stand straight instead of slouching. Push your shoulders slightly back. Correct posture will make you appear taller!
Wear fitted clothing. Fitted clothes accentuate your body's contours. Loose clothing can obscure these lines, making you look shorter. Wearing well-fitted outfits boosts your confidence, but avoid clothes that make you feel uncomfortable.
Increase your height. You can wear high heels regularly. Avoid flat shoes or flip-flops. Opt for high heels instead.
Highlight your best features. If you have long legs, wear shorts or short skirts to showcase them. Avoid long socks that can make your legs look shorter and your overall appearance shorter.
Wear dark-colored clothing. Sometimes appearing slimmer can make you look taller. Colors like black, navy blue, and dark green can create a slimming effect, especially when worn as a monochrome outfit, giving the illusion of added height.
Opt for vertical stripes. Clothing with vertical stripes can make you appear taller than you actually are. Horizontal stripes, on the other hand, have the opposite effect, so it's best to avoid them.
Tips
- Jumping rope can help increase your height. Incorporate it into your daily exercise routine. Yoga poses like TADASANA (Mountain Pose) also promote height growth. Practice yoga early in the morning.
- Stretch your muscles as much as possible to grow taller. Lie on the floor and massage your body. Relaxing your muscles through massage can slightly increase your height.
- Avoid dieting if you're still growing. Dieting can stunt your growth.
- During your teenage years, ensure you consume enough protein. Aim for 70 grams of protein per 0.45 kg of body weight. (For example, if you weigh 45 kg, you need 70 grams of protein.)
- Whether you're short or tall, there are pros and cons to both, so embrace being yourself.
- Wear long-fitting clothes if you're slim, and if you're overweight, try losing a few pounds to avoid hindering your growth.
- Choose fitted pants, yoga pants, or skinny jeans. Baggy pants can make you appear shorter.
