Question:
Hi,
I’m here to ask a question in regard to the Tanner stage’s correlation to height.
I believe I am a late bloomer as I have a Tanner Stage of 2.7 (using your calculator) at age 14 years and 8 months old. I have a height of 5’2 and as far as I’m concerned, that’s normal for my Tanner stage. However, it’s not for my age. Most of my friends are between 5’6 and 5’10. I’m curious to know if I will catch up to my peers, as the tanner stage suggests, or if I will always be the shortest in the pack, as my age says.
I’ve also got another question. What are the exact average height for Tanner stage 2.0 and the exact average height for Tanner stage 3.0 for boys? I know there is a range but I want an exact average height.
Thank you for taking the time to read my email.
Answer:
Typically “late bloomer” for boys is defined as someone who shows no sign of development until after his 14th birthday. At stage 2.7, you would have been in stage 2 for about a year and a half, so while you are growing later than the average boy, you started before the late bloomer classification. Not that it makes a huge difference in your question, but it is good to stay clear on the terms.
While your friends are taller than you are currently because most of them are in their growth spurt stage (Tanner stage 3), they will soon be exiting that stage and their growth will slow down. Meanwhile, you’ll be entering that stage and your growth will speed up. Your friends will likely reach their full adult around 17-18 years of age. You’ll hit your full adult height around 19-20 years of age.
Exactly how tall you will end up depends heavily on the genes you inherit from your parents. You can use the calculators on the Predicting Your Adult Height page to get some estimates on your final adult height.
I don’t know of any data available to answer your question about the average height at various Tanner stages. But the average boy hits stage 2 at age 11 and hits stage 3 at age 13.5. Using the CDC growth chart, the average 11-year-old is 4’8″ tall (or 144 cm). The average 13.5-year-old is 5’3″ tall (or 160 cm).
Response:
Thank you for your reply.