Question:
Hi sir,
I recently took the Tanner stage calculator test, and I got a 3.6. I have sparse armpit hair, some leg hair that’s thick near the ankles but not near the shins, some thigh hair, some arm hair, hair on my upper lip, a light trail of hair growing from pubic hair to navel, a voice deeper but cracks not so often, and have a baby face compared to kids in my class. I am fat, especially near the chest and waist, with around 25% body fat.
I am currently 5’9 at 15, with my mum being 5’2 and my dad being 5’11, and tall relatives on my dad’s side (180 cm+); however, my mum was malnourished, so her genetic ceiling is higher. Since I’m in Tanner stage 3.6, I should either have hit my growth spurt or be in one, but I haven’t. My dad said he was a steady grower, growing 2-3 inches a year, which seems to be the case with me, as I often grow that much over the last 2-3 years.
I noticed my first puberty signs (like pubic hair and my first ejaculation) at around 13.8 to 14, can it be that I am a late bloomer or will I just grow like my dad, and what final height may I reach?
Thanks.
Answer:
A growth spurt is any growth greater than 2 inches per year. You have been growing at that rate for the last two to three years. While it is not a dramatic spurt in growth, it is faster than childhood. You could not have reached 5’9″ without a faster growth rate.
With your first pubic hairs and your first ejaculation just before you turned 14, that would mean that you started puberty about a year before that, but you didn’t notice the swelling of your testicles (most boys don’t notice). A late bloomer is someone who shows no signs of puberty before the age of 14. You started around 12.5, so you are not a late bloomer. If I just considered this, I would expect you to be in early stage 3.
The light trail of hair on your lower stomach indicates you are in late stage 3, nearing stage 4. The change in your voice also indicates that you are nearing stage 4.
This is why the calculator gives you a 3.6: some of your information points to early-stage 3, and others to late-stage 3. It gave you an average. I can’t rule out that you might experience a faster growth rate for a period over the next year or two.
For an estimate of your final adult height, try Predicting Your Adult Height.