One the most obvious and typically the most noticeable physical change of puberty is the growth spurt.
Kids actually tend to grow a bit faster in the spring than during other times of the year! A major growth spurt happens at the time of puberty, usually between 8 to 13 years of age in girls and 10 to 15 years in boys. Puberty lasts about 2 to 5 years.
Most girls start their sexual development between the ages of 8 and 13 (the average age is 12), and have a growth spurt between the ages of 10 and 14. Most boys start developing sexually between the ages of 10 and 13, and continue to grow until they're around 16.
The average age for girls to start puberty is 11, while for boys the average age is 12. But it's perfectly normal for puberty to begin at any point between the ages of 8 and 13 in girls and 9 and 14 in boys.
The term “late bloomer” refers to a child who goes through puberty later than their peers. Constitutional growth delay, the medical term for this condition, runs in families. Late bloomers will catch up on their growth and have standard adult height, although it may take a little extra time and patience.
An adolescent may grow several inches in several months followed by a period of very slow growth, then have another growth spurt. Changes with puberty may occur gradually or several signs may become visible at the same time. There is a great amount of variation in the rate of changes that may occur.
The most direct causes are inadequate nutrition (not eating enough or eating foods that lack growth-promoting nutrients) and recurrent infections or chronic or diseases which cause poor nutrient intake, absorption or utilization. Then there is the lack of care and stimulation for development…
The growth plates fuse in an ascending order, from the foot to the wrist, and females mature significantly earlier than males.
Teens might have slower growth if they: don't get enough protein, calories, and other nutrients in their diet. have a long-lasting (chronic) medical condition, such as problems with the kidneys, heart, lungs, and intestines. have sickle cell anemia.
What causes growth spurts? Growth spurts are a natural part of your child's development because their bones and muscles are forming, and the nutrients they eat create fat in their body. Your child's genetic composition, or the genes that they inherit from their parents, causes growth spurts.
And when a baby growth spurt strikes, it can be fast and furious; babies can measurably gain weight and length in just 24 hours, says Michelle Lampl, a doctor and growth researcher at Emory University in Atlanta. Her studies show that tots can sprout as much as nine millimeters in length in just one day.
An adolescent may expect to grow several inches in several months followed by a period of very slow growth, then will typically have another growth spurt.
The growth rate for girls continues to be greater than boys between 10 and 13 years of age. After 13 years of age, the height spurt of girls generally is completed and the boys' height spurt is in its early phase. Therefore, by 14 years of age boys are taller than girls, on average.
On an x-ray, growth plates look like dark lines at the ends of the bones. At the end of growth, when the cartilage completely hardens into bone, the dark line will no longer be visible on an x-ray. At that point growth plates are considered closed.
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.
Most boys with constitutional delayed puberty are short compared with their peers, but because they have a delayed growth spurt, they usually catch up to other boys by the time they are 18 and have heights in the normal range as adults.
The actual spurt was then smaller and, moreover, puberty occurred earlier. In the category of children with lower BMI and later onset of puberty, the spurt was all the stronger. Those whose puberty was delayed also had several extra years to grow in, and quite simply ended up taller.
The expected average height of a healthy population should be 163 cm for women and 176.5 cm for men – as defined by the WHO growth reference standards. Interestingly, the global average height is 159.5 cm for women, and 171 cm for men – it's lower than we'd expect.
If you follow your son's growth chart you'll see it begins to flatten out around age 18 -20, indicating linear growth is slowing down and full adult height is likely. However, boys who enter puberty later may continue to grow into early adulthood.
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, short stature means an estimated final height below 5 feet 3 inches for boys or 4 feet 11 inches for girls. The average height in the United States is 5 feet 8 inches for men and 5 feet 4 inches for women.