How Can Lifestyle Habits Like Diet And The Amount Of

Posted on Fri, 13 Mar 2020

Question: How can Lifestyle habits like diet and the amount of exercise you get during childhood and puberty affect how tall you eventually are as an adult? Can you increase your ultimate height?

Answered by Dr. Suresh Heijebu (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Maximum height occurs by 18 years

Detailed Answer:
Hello Sir

I can certainly understand your concern

I have worked through your attached query in detail

Maximum height of an individual is attained by 16 to 17 years.

We have been genetically programmed to stop growing after the completion of puberty. This usually happens when most males will reach their last growth spurt in their late teens (at the average age of 18 years).

Thereafter further increase in height is not possible due to growing of epiphysis.

You can go for stretching exercises which will cause increase in the apparent height of the individual by stretching the ligaments of the upper half of the body in the region of spine upto 21 years of age.

There are no oral medications or surgeries to increase one's height after closure of growing ends of bones at appropriate age.

Thank you

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad

Follow up: Dr. Suresh Heijebu (13 hours later)

What about before you are 18, like during childhood and puberty? Can you increase or decrease your final height by doing certain things while still growing?