Height - Could I still grow?

Height for males depends on a hormone spurt of testosterone. The hormone spurt, when it happens, is supposed to (according to science webpages) close up the growth plates on the long bones. So a spike of testosterone will stop your height from increasing.

The testosterone spurt also shows up on your body with secondary sexual characteristics. If you need further details your best bet is to ask your GP for a referral to a hormone specialist.

I'm in a similar situation. I'm 16 (17 in January) and I'm 5'3". When I was younger they did an X-ray of my wrist and hand, they came to the conclusion that at that time, my growth plates were about 3 years behind typical despite other puberty markers occurring at a fairly normal time. Maybe something similar applies to you also.

I'm 16 and I'm not particularly short - about 6 foot exactly - and I'm still growing. I'm not late or anything, I have lots of hair on my legs and I'm growing a beard now, but I'm still not done. I imagine I might have another small growth spurt in the next 2 years (about an inch or 2) and then I'll grow another half inch or inch until 21 after that. It's weird because I barely grew when I was 13 after my voice broke (about 1 inch in a year) and then I had another growth spurt when I was 15, then another one over the summer holidays. Pretty sure it's still going because I have a massive appetite.

But if you're 17 and all your siblings started late, and you're shorter than both your parents, yes you will have a growth spurt within the next 2 years. It will probably happen after a spike of hormones, so you might find you break out in spots if that's something you suffer with, and then you'll start noticing your height increasing rapidly. That's usually what happens to me 2-4 weeks before something develops, like an expansion of hair growth or a growth spurt - something to do with puberty.

I'm currently taller than my parents😂😂. But they did shrink due to hunching their back and in general because of old age. I am starting to have a lot of break out of spots and I do to a certain degree have a lot of facial hair compared to other people my age. At times I feel like my growth spurt could be coming and at other times I feel like it won't and I'll just be at this height but I'm not really sure what to think, I'm just starting to get to the age where if I am going to be at this height forever, then I'll just have to deal with it and move on. I don't think I've had a growth spurt yet because I've in general been shorter than most people and everyone other than me has grown and I don't think I've grown more than an inch in the past 2 years, maybe 3. Or this could potentially mean my plates are fused, I don't know.

I feel like it could come around now cause I've started doing all the right stuff, as in actually getting enough sleep, exercising regularly and have a good diet but I'm not sure if it's too late to be doing all these things to fix my height. But anyways thanks for the optimistic thinking, and who knows by tomorrow I could grow and be 6ft. I'm just kidding😂 but hopefully I do grow, fingers crossed🤞.

Yeah, I'm taller than my dad by about an inch but he used to be around 6 foot 1 or 2 in his prime. He broke one of his discs though so he's gained a more hunched back appearance as well as the fact that his spine is compressing due to age. My mum is about 5 foot 5 so if I don't grow anymore I'm the male equivalent of her height, although I am pretty sure I will still grow another inch or two thanks to my dad or some other tall-ish ancestor.

When I say I'm growing a beard, I mean that I have a light moustache and neck hair, and my sideburns are beginning to grow. It's not very extensive yet which means my growth plates probably haven't fused. I do have a lot of leg hair though but I think I am just naturally hairy from my dad's side as I first started growing leg hair before my voice broke, although in the last year it has really started to thicken and grow more. I've also got growing arm hair now.

I wouldn't rule out a growth spurt just yet. Like I said, I didn't grow more than an inch for a year after my voice broke, and I thought I had been early and wouldn't grow anymore (was about 5 foot 6 at the time). Then I got a growth spurt and went to 5 foot 8 suddenly. And now I'm about 6 foot here or there after another growth spurt. It sounds pretty tall but where I am, most men are 6 foot 1 or more so I still feel short.

How tall are your parents, and how tall are you now? Just because you're taller than your parents doesn't mean you couldn't have inherited height genes from some tall ancestor. Children grow multiple inches taller than their parents all the time.

My dads about 4ft 11/ 5ft and my mum is 5ft/ 5ft 1 so yh they are pretty short. I'm asian so in general I am pretty hairy and my sideburns grow out really quickly and are pretty thick and I have a pretty thick tache and a bit of chin hair..

I know I should have a positive mindset but realistically not many people grow after 16, let alone 17, probably 1 in 100 maybe. I would also say I don't think I get enough calcium, vitamin d, zinc and magnesium so I was thinking, if I should get some tablets but I don't know if that'll stunt my growth or not.

If your 6ft and people are 6ft 1, that's not really a huge difference. I'm from the UK, and I think I'm in the shortest in my year where there is roughly 50 people, and the second shortest is around 5ft 5/6.

I take it your voice is fully broken? You say you have an Asian background, are your parents immigrants? If they are, it could be that they were malnourished growing up and didn't achieve their full heights since those parts of the worlds aren't the best in terms of that kind of thing. I know the average height in India/Pakistan area (assuming that's what you mean by Asian, please correct me if I'm wrong) is about 5 foot 5 or 6 for men, so even 4 foot 11 is short for a man by those standards. If not then sorry mate but you've just got some midget genes lmao

Well, the average is about 6 foot or 6 foot 1. I'm about the 5th tallest in my sixth form, but that's only because all the tall people left. In terms of male teachers, I match some of them, taller than a few and some are taller. So you could say I'm about average for my area but I still feel quite short because a good deal of men are taller than me. It's weird because when I go to another area, I feel tall because I'm taller than most. Last time I went up to the north coast of my county (Kent) I can confidently say I was taller than about 50% of men there, and matched most of the rest. Weird stuff.

Bro how do you think I feel? and yh my parents are from Bangladesh and those types of countries aren't very tall because of their diet and not really being balanced because carbohydrates is heavily used in their diets. But yh my dad was decently tall but became short and probably is the shortest in my family because he gained a lot of weight and cause of old age. Most of my uncles are pretty old now, but all the males in my family in their prime, I would say the average height would be 5ft 6/7. Which I would say is decent for an asian family, well I think it is.

Yeah, 5 foot 6-7 is above average for an Asian family. I assume you're about 5 foot 6? That's not awful, about half of women are shorter than that

Would you say you have had a growth spurt at some stage? If so then you're probably not gonna grow anymore I'm afraid

Oh no, I'm actually 5ft 2 lol. I don't think I've had a growth spurt, cause I've seen people that were shorter than me, or the same height as me, either grow to my height or even taller than me. I've probably grown like a few centimetres each year but I don't think I've grown a few inches in a year so far.

Hmm... When did you hit puberty? You may have had a very early growth spurt before all of the other changes.

There's still hope though; if you truly haven't had a growth spurt, there could well be one waiting round the corner if you dad was once much taller. Not to mention your mum's height would take you to about 5 foot 6 or 7.

I take it your voice is fully broken? You say you have an Asian background, are your parents immigrants? If they are, it could be that they were malnourished growing up and didn't achieve their full heights since those parts of the worlds aren't the best in terms of that kind of thing. I know the average height in India/Pakistan area (assuming that's what you mean by Asian, please correct me if I'm wrong) is about 5 foot 5 or 6 for men, so even 4 foot 11 is short for a man by those standards. If not then sorry mate but you've just got some midget genes lmao

Well, the average is about 6 foot or 6 foot 1. I'm about the 5th tallest in my sixth form, but that's only because all the tall people left. In terms of male teachers, I match some of them, taller than a few and some are taller. So you could say I'm about average for my area but I still feel quite short because a good deal of men are taller than me. It's weird because when I go to another area, I feel tall because I'm taller than most. Last time I went up to the north coast of my county (Kent) I can confidently say I was taller than about 50% of men there, and matched most of the rest. Weird stuff.

Are you claiming the average height in the u.k is 6 foot or 6 foot 1? if so you are totally delusional and nothing backs that up, the average height in the u.k is for male is 5'9 from most studies.

Umm. I would probably say 12 or 13 I'm not exactly sure but I would say around then. Since then I don't think I've had a year which I've had an outstanding growth period. I'm not exactly fussed about it for now cause I could still grow, hopefully but if I am 18 or 19, or in general if I'm worried, I could see a doctor and see what happens then. But anyways thank you so much for your help, Tbh I am genuinely thankful cause I would say I'm more optimistic that I could still grow before I spoke to you. So again thank you for your help.

No it's 6 foot or 6 foot 1 for the area I live in. The UK average is brought down by northern areas like Wales and Scotland who generally have a shorter and stockier build than the tall robust build of the South East. Come to Kent where I live and you'll see that most men are over 6 feet tall.