Height Myths and Facts

Height Facts and Myths

Content provided by the Faculty of the Harvard Medical School
The Truth About Height

Are you happy with your height? Did you ever wish you were taller or shorter than you are? Questions and misconceptions are common about what factors determine human height. Can it be predicted in advance? Do large feet really predict exceptionally tall stature? Does coffee stunt your growth? Read on for answers to these and other questions about why you are as tall as you are - no taller, no shorter.

Will Coffee Hurt Height?

A well-balanced and appropriate diet maintained throughout childhood in the absence of illness will probably lead to the maximum height possible; beyond that, there is no evidence that enriching a diet with (or avoiding) a particular food will alter the height one is otherwise destined to reach. For example, there is no compelling evidence that coffee or caffeinated beverages stunt growth.

The Two Year Prediction

Genes, nutrition, and overall health have their effects right from the beginning. Rather predictably, we achieve about half of our adult height by age 2. So one way to predict ultimate height is simply to double the height achieved by the second birthday.

Shoe Size Matters

During the pubertal growth spurt, the hands and feet enlarge before the long bones, so that for many, the first indication that rapid growth is about to begin is an increase in shoe size.

Spurts and Slumps

From infancy, when average length is 20 inches, to age 2 there is initially rapid growth, then slowing, with about 14 inches in height added. From age 2 to puberty there is slow, steady growth at about 2 inches per year. As one enters puberty, a growth spurt of 3 to 5 inches in a year is common. By ages 40 to 50, height actually may begin slowly to decline, even in healthy adults.


A Formula

The observation that family members tend to be of similar stature is born out by formulas designed to predict height. One commonly quoted formula uses parental height and gender to predict adult height (in inches) as follows: For men: (height of mother + height of father + 5)/2. For women: (height of mother + height of father - 5)/2. If you know your parents' heights, see if this formula predicts yours well; for most people, this will accurately predict your height within 2 or 3 inches.

Height and Gender

As you may have noticed, gender has a significant effect on height: The growth spurt around the time of puberty occurs two years earlier in girls when compared with boys, but the boys tend to be taller when it begins. Most of the average height difference between adult men and women (about 5 inches) relates to the greater growth of boys during the adolescent growth spurt and the greater height achieved prior to that growth spurt (even though girls tend to start their growth spurt sooner).


The Big Shrink

People tend to lose height as they age. This is mostly related to osteoporosis and reduced water content in the disks (so that the distance between each vertebra is reduced). On average, women lose about 2 inches over their lifetime, while men lose about 1 inch.