Last updated on September 2, 2020
Question:
I recently turned 14, and I am not growing taller rapidly. Most of my friends are taller than me by several inches! My parents keep saying I will grow taller but the strange thing is, I started puberty when I was 11 and a lot of the adult features didn’t come in stages; they sprang up suddenly. My voice got deeper overnight, my penis got bigger and thicker in a short time and I achieved the ability to ejaculate semen. Dark thick, curly public hair suddenly sprung up and I got acne. The next year after the unusual puberty, my feet got bigger and wider, got to the same size as my dad’s feet in a few months. I also grew taller by a few inches: 5’1″.
Now my body doesn’t seem to be growing any more adult features. My penis and scrotum haven’t grown since I was 12. I feel more bone instead of fat at the side of my feet (a few months ago there was more fat I could pinch and I am still wearing the same size shoes as a year and a half ago. My thighs are kind of fat, but my torso is skinny. Possibly related, my face isn’t as chubby as it was when I was 10. I did not have a lot of calcium and protein. Could this be related to the strange growing; developed adult features in one year but not having a rapid growth spurt?
I am 5’4 or 5’3″, 108 lbs, have kind of short calves. My shoulders have gotten a bit wider last year. It takes me a while to grow 1 or 2 inches. My mom is 5’4″, slim, my dad is 5’8″, muscular-flabby. Both are of Chinese heritage. My grandpa and grandma on my dad’s side are 5’8″ and 5’0″. I don’t know how tall my grandpa and grandma on my mom’s side are but my mom’s brother is 5’11”. Some of her relatives are 5’11, 6’0″. My dad said he was fat when he was 11 or 12 when he started growing taller.
I masturbated with a pillow when I was 11 and since then trying hard to stop. Could this have anything to do with the weird growing?
I also forgot to say that I did not play any sports until I was 12. Since then I play badminton twice a week until summer and tennis almost every day until fall. Does that also have anything to do with my strange growth?
I tried researching this but got no information. So my question is, will I be tall when I am older? I want to be 6’0″, skinny with long legs.
Answer:
I can only talk about generalities. Each person is unique and there can be variations in how a person grows.
Most growth occurs in spurts. One area develops rapidly for a while and then slows down while another area develops. This is because the body can’t sustain constant growth in all areas at the same time. Such would take too much energy.
Poor nutrition can slow down growth or cause a person not to grow as much as their potential, but it won’t cause growth to speed up.
Masturbating comes because you are producing semen and you learned this way to trigger ejaculations, but such has nothing to do with your growth. Nor does playing sports impact your growth. It simply makes you healthier.
There is no way to predict precisely how tall you will be. Your doctor can do a bone age test with an x-ray of your hand to tell you what stage of growth you are in. The Tanner Stage Calculator uses secondary, external features to give an estimate of what stage you are in. If you are in stage 3 then you have the potential for more rapid growth. If you are in stage 4 then you will be putting on just a few more inches before growth stops. Your description of yourself leads me to believe you may be in stage 4, but I have no way of verifying that. As I said, you would need to see a doctor in order to make sure.
I know you have an idea of what you would like to be like when you finish growing, but desire doesn’t make a reality. “Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?” (Matthew 6:27). Better is to learn to be thankful for what the Lord has blessed you with.
Question:
All right. My father did probably refer to that verse a few times. Thanks.
From ages 1-13, I hardly consumed any calcium and protein. Since last year, I have been having more protein and calcium. Will this makeup for the times when I didn’t consume much of those nutrients? One more thing, am I short because I hardly consumed any calcium and protein while I was developing the reproductive organs and pubic hair?
Answer:
Your body will try to make up for lost ground, but generally, it cannot make a complete recovery. In developing various parts of the body, there are limited ranges in which the optimal growth can take place.
Hair grows throughout a man’s life, so any lost ground will be quickly made up in that realm. A lack of calcium is more of a concern about your bone growth and density. The latter will be more an issue when you reach old age. The change in your diet would explain the odd order in which you have been developing.
As I said before, I cannot make guesses when I haven’t seen you. You would be best off seeing your doctor and asking him your questions.