Last updated on January 19, 2022
Question:
Hello there,
I would like to inquire about my future height and my embarrassment of being short.
I am currently a boy who has just turned 13 years of age. I am standing at a height of just 150 cm (4’11) (very short in my school). I took the tanner stage test just yesterday and received a score of just 2.1, and I did the test with my best accuracy. I am Asian and my dad’s height is just 165 cm (5’5) and my mum is only just 155 cm (5’1). I practically have no hair on my genitals and nothing has changed since 5th grade (I’m currently starting 9th grade).
I feel like a baby sometimes when I go to school because every time we line up for school assembly and stand up to sing the national anthem, all my peers around me are easily a head and a half taller than me. It just looks so unnatural standing next to people of this height. I eat a lot of food. I easily do 2 hours of exercise per day, and I am very very fit. I have no idea why I am just so short, which is why I am here to inquire about it today.
My main inquiry is what my height from your perspective could be. I am aiming to be 175 cm (5’9).
Awaiting your response
Thanks.
Answer:
Everyone starts puberty at different ages. Boys can start as early a 9 or as late as 15. The average age is 11. Since you have a 2.1 on the calculator, that means there are some beginning signs of puberty. But that also means that half of your peers have a two-year head start on you. They would be in stage 3 and beginning their growth spurt while you still have about another 2-2.5 years before your growth spurt starts. While you are later than average, you aren’t quite to the point of being a late bloomer. A late bloomer doesn’t get signs of developing until age 14 or 15.
Keep eating well and exercising daily. No one wants to be different, especially during the teenage years, but some have to deal with it. By the time you are twenty, you will have caught up with everyone. I ran the various calculators and the prediction for your final adult height is somewhere between 166 and 170 cm.
Question:
Thank you for your response.
I am easily drinking 1 liter of milk per day and many more calcium products and I eat a lot (I mean a lot) of food (more than my father). I’m also doing 2 km runs in the morning and stretching twice a day and 2000 rope skips per day.
May I ask how long it usually takes to transition into stage 3 where the growth spurt starts? I reckon if I can get to 160 by the end of this year and then I start stage 3, I might have a chance of hitting 170-180 cm, which is my goal.
Thanks.
Answer:
Each stage lasts roughly 2 years, so assuming the assessment is accurate, you should reach stage 3 in about 2 years. Growth spurts don’t start immediately upon reaching stage 3, which is why I had said about 2 to 2.5 years. Assuming you grow about 4 cm per year currently, then you will be at 158 or 160 when you hit your growth spurt.
Please understand that your maximum height was set at your conception when DNA from your mom and dad blended together to form you. Being healthy and eating well allows your body to reach its maximum potential, but you can’t exceed it.
Question:
So if I am 160 cm when puberty hits, then technically if stage 3 goes for 2 years, then say I grow a solid 10 cm per year (I am very healthy) then I could easily grow 15-20 cm during stage 3 ending my height between 175-180. You said I could even grow up to 20cm per year too.
Answer:
“Puberty” is when changes begin to happen. Since you are just past stage 2, you have already reached puberty. I think you meant your growth spurt, which happens sometime during stage 3.
While some boys do gain an incredible amount of height during their growth spurt, the speed at which you grow is regulated by your genes. There is a wide variation in growth. Some grow fast but it is only over a few months. Others grow more slowly but it is over a year or two. You and I don’t know how your body is programmed, so we just have to wait and see.
Response:
Awesome! Thanks for the info!