Growing Taller?

[takeyourmark]

I don't know if this is the right section to post this, I apologize if I'm wrong.

Anyway, my younger brother is the smallest in the family. He's 19 and stands 5'4. Our dad is 6 ft tall, our mom is 5'5, and i'm 5'10. He is convinced that there is this site that can help him get 2-3 inches taller. I told him i think it's a scam but he won't listen. So I need your opinion on this. Do you think that these "grow taller" sites/products really work? If not, help me stop my brother from wasting his money.

 

[Guill]

Generally these are just a scam. I would guess that he might still have some growth left if he's 19 but it might just be that he's going to be short. I know lots of weight lifting when young can stunt your growth if that is his case. There might also be nutritional things that could help. I'd ask a doctor if he might know what might be causing his stunted growth.

 

[takeyourmark]

that's what I thought too. he wouldn't believe me. he started weigh lifting when he was 16. His body is bigger than mine but i'm taller because I don't lift weights too much. He's losing hope because I stopped growing taller at 19 and he's afraid he might too.

 

[bellon]

Most likely he's done growing. Nothing short of surgery can make him taller, and it's very risky and will result in disporportionality: Distraction osteogenesis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia There is certainly no pill or anything that he can take to become taller.

 

[SpeedoMike]

genetics... his height is much more from his mother than his father. he may continue growth and experience gradual change or a growth spurt. then again he may not.

 

[beyondbelief]

I had a friend who was around 5'7 until he was around 20, then he started growing, and by 21 was 6'4. He was always quite small compared to the rest of his peer group, but then had a huge growth spurt later than everyone else.

I'd recommend stretching exercises, which might trigger some growth. I do think that a lot of guys who weight lift in their teens, do stunt their height growth. Not all, but in general.

 

[B_625girth]

how tall are the males on your mother's side of the family??? he will probably be right around their size. no big mystery, and chances are he was done growing. I was 6'5" when 15 and grew a 1/2" after that.

 

[Svidrigailov]

I know lots of weight lifting when young can stunt your growth if that is his case.

Do you have any reputable sources for this? This sounds like BS.

 

[blondetwink11]

I'd just tell him that he still has some more growing to do. I am 20 and I am still growing.

 

[FuzzyKen]

There are many factors which play into this. The only way to know for certain on this one is to have some specialized x-rays taken which look for what is called "bone closure".

I have a second cousin who at his HS graduation looked like a 12-year-old. He was a very late bloomer. His Mom was about 5'4" tall and weighed maybe 120 pounds. He had two Brothers, the oldest was 6'1" and very slender, the other a 5'9" mesomorph. The second cousin in question started a growth spurt after he was in college. By the time he graduated from Loyola University he was 6' in height and had gone from about 115 to 180 pounds. He did not stop growing until his later 20's. This is the exception and not the rule, but, a full assessment needs to be done to be certain. The testing involves panels on all of the sex hormones and HGH as well as the bone closure scans it is that simple.

As a general rule most growth scams involve stretching exercises. The same stretching exercises can be found on the internet for free.

There is one other thing. The nephew that my other half and I are raising is only 1" taller than your brother at 5'5" tall. He is a bodybuilder working towards his pro card. He is at the bottom of a cutting cycle right now at 180 pounds. When he is at the top end of a bulking cycle he is about 220. I want you to picture what 19" biceps and a 48 inch chest look like on a 5'5" body. Look up the statistics on retired bodybuilder Franco Columbo. I can guarantee you that nobody looking at my nephew or at Franco would ever refer to them as a "shrimp" or as small. If the other genetics work for him he can do things to compensate and still have a great time.

If you have any additional questions please do not hesitate to PM me. I went down this road with my nephew and maybe I can be of help. . . .

 

[takeyourmark]

how tall are the males on your mother's side of the family??? he will probably be right around their size. no big mystery, and chances are he was done growing. I was 6'5" when 15 and grew a 1/2" after that.

my grandfather was 5'11, my uncle is 5'10. he is way smaller than any of us.

 

[takeyourmark]

There are many factors which play into this. The only way to know for certain on this one is to have some specialized x-rays taken which look for what is called "bone closure".

I have a second cousin who at his HS graduation looked like a 12-year-old. He was a very late bloomer. His Mom was about 5'4" tall and weighed maybe 120 pounds. He had two Brothers, the oldest was 6'1" and very slender, the other a 5'9" mesomorph. The second cousin in question started a growth spurt after he was in college. By the time he graduated from Loyola University he was 6' in height and had gone from about 115 to 180 pounds. He did not stop growing until his later 20's. This is the exception and not the rule, but, a full assessment needs to be done to be certain. The testing involves panels on all of the sex hormones and HGH as well as the bone closure scans it is that simple.

As a general rule most growth scams involve stretching exercises. The same stretching exercises can be found on the internet for free.

There is one other thing. The nephew that my other half and I are raising is only 1" taller than your brother at 5'5" tall. He is a bodybuilder working towards his pro card. He is at the bottom of a cutting cycle right now at 180 pounds. When he is at the top end of a bulking cycle he is about 220. I want you to picture what 19" biceps and a 48 inch chest look like on a 5'5" body. Look up the statistics on retired bodybuilder Franco Columbo. I can guarantee you that nobody looking at my nephew or at Franco would ever refer to them as a "shrimp" or as small. If the other genetics work for him he can do things to compensate and still have a great time.

If you have any additional questions please do not hesitate to PM me. I went down this road with my nephew and maybe I can be of help. . . .

wow. thanks for the info. i'll show him this thread. :biggrin1:

 

[TheLiberator]

There is a surgery that breaks your leg bones ever so slowly, so that they grow back, and in time, will get you up 2-3 inches.

Although, for the most part, they do those surgeries for little people, not short guys.

 

[Alex_Delarge]

Most likely the weight lifting is the cause of his refuced height. Growth hormone causes the growth "plates" in the bones to fuse over and stop getting longer. Intense weight training boosts growth hormone and can cause this.

Those websites are a scam.