Last updated on September 29, 2020
Question:
I’m a 16 year old male. For three years I remained at the same height of 5’4. My mother’s height is 5’5, my father’s height is 5’8 and my little brother’s height is 5’8. He is taller than my father by a little bit. Yesterday I went to a doctor. I did some tests — one of them was an x-ray of my left hand. It showed that the growth plates are closed. The doctor told me that there is no hope for me to grow any more.
I want to ask about my hormones: Is there something wrong with them?
Answer:
Your height depends on your skeleton — your bones. Bones increase in size through areas called the growth plates. Once those growth plates close down, there is no known way to reopen them. Since the x-rays show that your growth plates are closed, you have reached your final height.
A person’s height is control by many different factors and your hormones are just one of them. It is unusual for a male to be fully developed by the age of 13. It means you started maturing much sooner than other boys the same age. I don’t know if your early development and early finish were due to hormones or something else.
I assume that in all other aspects you are fully developed, such as hair growth, strength, and the ability to ejaculate. While you may not be as tall as you would like to be, you are still able to fully function as a man in this world.