Last updated on July 1, 2023
Question:
Hello,
I’m turning 16 in about a month and I have some questions about height. I’m not short as I’m 5’9.5″ (127 lbs). However, I’ve never experienced a growth spurt.
My height as measured by doctors:
Birth: 22.5″
1: 2’10”
2: 3’2″
My height throughout the years (not exactly 12 months in-between measurements):
7: 4’5.5″
8: 4’8″
9: 4’10”
10: 5′
11: 5’1.5″
12: 5’4″
13: 5’6″
I’ve been growing 1 inch a year since 13. I had my first signs of puberty at age 11.5.
As you can see I’ve never had a growth spurt. My father is 5’11” and my mother is about 5’5″.
Males in my family, both paternal and maternal, have had a late growth spurt, two got it as late as 16, then continued growing until their early 20s. But none of them was as tall as me right now. They were in the low 5′ range pre-growth spurt at best.
I don’t know about my bone age, but it says the Tanner stage is 3.8 and I haven’t had a growth spurt yet.
On another note, males in my family range between 5’10” and 6’3″. My maternal great-grandfather was 6’4″. My paternal great-grandfather was also 6’4″ and his father was 6’8″.
Answer:
You don’t inherit genes from anyone but your parents and it is the selected combination of your parents’ genes that determine your height. Sons of your parents will have a minimum height of 5’8″ and can go as high as 6’6″. The KGH method estimates that you’ll be 5’11” by the time you are done growing.
While it isn’t common, there are boys who grow steadily for a longer period instead of shooting up suddenly. It appears you are in that group. I believe the estimate is a bit low as I would expect you to be in stage 4 given your growth pattern.