Last updated on February 14, 2024
Question:
Hello!
I have a question regarding my growth pattern and whether you think I’ll grow anymore at all. (Keep in mind that these heights are to the best of my knowledge, and, unfortunately, I have not regularly measured my height.)
12: 5’3
13: 5’6 – 5’8
14: (When I turned 14, I was 5’9, and shortly after that, I grew to 5’11)
15: 6’1
16: 6’1
I have done the Tanner stage calculator a couple of times while attempting to answer the questions to the best of my ability, and I have gotten numbers ranging from 4.3 – 4.7. For this question, I will say that I’m at stage 4.6. At this point, do you think I’ll be able to grow anymore? I am also 16 old. My weight is a little under 140 lbs or around 63 kg.
For your information, my parents are 6’2 ” and 5’9 “, respectively. (For what it’s worth, my brother is 6’4 “).
Answer:
It appears that you were in stage 3 between 12 and early 14. So, I would assume that sometime during age 14, you entered stage 4. You gained two more inches, but your growth in height has since drastically slowed down. You might grow a fraction of an inch more, but I would not expect much.
Boys in a family can vary up to ten inches, even though they have the same parents. For example, there is an 8-inch difference between the shortest brother and the tallest brother in my family.
Question:
Thanks for the answer!
Interestingly, he’s my half-brother; we share the same father. His mother is significantly shorter than my mother, and to my knowledge, she doesn’t have any particular tall individuals on her side of the family. Though I understand genetics can be weird like that, of course. Is my low weight and the same body composition that I’ve had since at least 12 years old just a consequence of “fast metabolism,” or are other things going on in puberty that are causing it? Also, I think I maintained the same height from 11.5 to about 12.5, but I would assume that, in this case, it wouldn’t have made that much difference either way.
Answer:
The body doesn’t grow constantly. A limited amount of energy is available, so it shifts from one area to another. The period you remained the same size was just before your growth spurt, so your body made internal changes to prepare for the increased height.
Growth consumes a lot of energy, so, unsurprisingly, you have remained relatively skinny during your growth. Whether you have a high metabolism will be seen later when you are in your twenties. If you easily remain skinny despite what you eat, then you can say your metabolism is high.