There's no proven way to predict a child's adult height.
Pediatric orthopedic surgeons can estimate when growth will be completed by determining a child's “bone age.” They do this by taking an x-ray of the left hand and wrist to see which growth plates are still open. The bone age may be different from the child's actual age.
Another way to predict height is to take the average height of the parents and then, for boys add 2.5 inches or 6.5cm and for girls subtract 2.5 inches.
Changes in Boys
They tend to grow most quickly between ages 12 and 15. The growth spurt of boys is, on average, about 2 years later than that of girls. By age 16, most boys have stopped growing, but their muscles will continue to develop.
Though it's probable that your real height is close to your predicted height, this isn't always the case. It's entirely possible for two short parents to have a tall child, and vice versa. It's just more likely that the child of short people will end up vertically challenged.
Chances are you'll be around the same height as your parents. If one parent is tall and one short, then you're likely to end up somewhere in between. But you could be taller or shorter, too.
However, several formulas can provide a reasonable guess for child growth. Here's a popular example: Add the mother's height to the father's height in either inches or centimeters. Add 5 inches (13 centimeters) for boys or subtract 5 inches (13 centimeters) for girls.
A simple method to predict adult height is to double the child's height at age 2. Girls develop more quickly, so doubling their height at 18 months old can also be used as an estimate of how tall they will be as adults.
Doubling a child's height at age 2 can provide an estimate of how tall that child will be in adulthood. (Boys are usually a little taller than that number and girls a little shorter.)
Yes, leg length is related to overall height. However, you can be short, but have long legs. And you can be tall with short legs. Roughly 60-80 percent of our body shape is determined by genetics and the rest from childhood nutrition.
If your baby tops the length charts, you might expect them to tower above their classmates one day. But a long infant won't necessarily become a tall adult—just like short babies don't always turn into small-statured people. In fact, a fetus' size is largely determined by the placenta's health.
That is, for boys you can explain about 64 percent of the variation in adult height by knowing height at age 4. This is a reasonably strong correlation, and means that kids who are tall when they're 4 will likely be tall as adults.
Women generally stop growing any taller around the age of 15, whereas men keep going for another three years. For this reason men tend to be taller than women, for a given set of height genes. In a sense, you could say that the Y chromosome is itself one of those height genes.
If you are a man with average height, you can expect your son to be a few inches (centimeters) taller than you. This is because the regression line and the SD line both coincide at the average heights. For instance, a father with an average height of 67.7 inches (172cm) will have a 68.7-inch-tall (175cm-tall) son.
A common height myth is that certain exercises or stretching techniques can make you taller. Many people believe that activities like barbell training, rock climbing, and swimming can increase height. However, there is no evidence or research on the effects of these exercises on height growth after adulthood.
Taking care of himself — eating well, exercising regularly, and getting plenty of rest — is the best way for your son to help his body reach its natural potential. No pill, formula, or nutritional supplement can increase someone's height. Mostly, our genes determine how tall we will be.
Babies and children grow continuously. This is due to changes in the growth plates in the long bones of their arms and legs. As the growth plates make new bone, the long bones get longer, and the child gets taller.
Just because we do not see a specific ancestral trait does not mean that he/she does not carry it. The more tall ancestors you have determines the likelihood of you being tall, however, if there is even one ancestor that carries the genetics of shortness you have a possibility of ending up short!
Increasing your height after 18 is not possible, even through nutrition and exercise, because the growth plates stop growing. The growth plates (epiphyseal plates) are present at the end of long bones.
It can start as early as age 9. Puberty is a process that takes place for several years. Most girls finish puberty by age 14. Most boys finish puberty by age 15 or 16.