What is associated with human growth: basic and additional factors. How does a person’s height affect his health and is it possible to stimulate growth hormone?

What influences a person's height?

As a person grows older, the only exception is cases associated with developmental problems. The rate at which a person grows is influenced by the hormone somatotropin. If there is too much of this hormone in the human body or, conversely, not enough, then this is fraught with certain deviations, due to which the person may not grow at all or become too tall.

It should also be noted that people often forget that heredity plays a big role. If both parents are tall, it is likely that their children will also be tall. Is there anything that can be done about heredity?

However, it also happens that a child can grow tall even where all family members are of average height. In such cases, when the height of children is, for example, 186 cm at the age of 13, we can talk about the existence of problems with the endocrine system. In such a situation, you need to visit a doctor.

What does human growth depend on: the functioning of the endocrine system

The height of a person is considered to be the distance from the top of the head to the plane of the feet. At the same time, it will not be a secret to anyone that the height of all people is different, some may be short, some may be tall.

First of all, a person’s growth depends on how his endocrine system , or rather the endocrine glands, works.

• Pituitary. The pituitary gland is the central organ of the endocrine system and is located in the brain. This organ produces hormones that affect not only human growth, but also the metabolic processes that occur in the human body and human reproductive function. It is also important to say that the main growth hormone is also produced in the pituitary gland.
• If the functioning of this organ is disrupted for any reason, the human body will be subject to abnormal growth. For example, when an excess amount of a hormone is produced, a person can grow to gigantic sizes, and if there is an insufficient amount, a person can grow into a dwarf. If we talk about problems in the functioning of this organ at a time when a person has already reached puberty and has already grown up, then problems with disproportionate development of body parts may begin.

Height

• Thymus. This organ is connected to the gonads and works only until they start working. The essence of the thymus's work is the production of lymphoid cells.
• Sex glands. The functioning of these glands also directly affects human growth. The gonads in humans are represented by the ovaries in women and the testes in men. It is in these organs that the production of male and female sex hormones occurs. As mentioned earlier, the thymus works only until the gonads begin to work. That is why, in the case of early puberty, the thymus stops growing and working, and the person does not grow enough. As a rule, the height of such a person remains below average.

Dependence of human height

• Thyroid gland. This gland is responsible for the production of hormones that contain iodine, and they, in turn, take part in the metabolic processes of the body and are responsible for the growth of certain cells. The work of this gland also affects the growth of the bone apparatus.

Anthropological attitudes

The question of what time a person stops growing is quite popular. It is a well-known fact that in the period from 11 to 14 years people grow quite quickly, and stop growing approximately from 19 to 24 years. However, people still grow a little and until the age of 40 they add several millimeters per year. This is considered completely normal and there is no need to worry about it.

As soon as a person overcomes a certain age limit, his height will begin to decrease. As experts say, over 10 years a person loses about 14 mm in height. Why does this happen? Loss in height indicates contraction of joints, vertebrae, and cartilage tissue.

By the way

Is it true that children grow up in their sleep? Is it true. Up to 70% of growth hormone is released at night. Therefore, children who do not get enough sleep tend to be stunted.

To what age do people grow? An increase in growth is possible only until the growth zones close - on average 18-20 years. Girls grow up to 17-19 years of age (peak growth occurs at 11 years old - at this age they grow by 8.3 cm per year), boys - up to 19-21 years of age (peak growth is 12-13 years old, increase - 9.5 cm per year). With age, height decreases - by 60 years by 2-2.5 cm, by 80 - by 6-7 cm.

We would like to thank Anatoly Sitel, Professor of the Russian State Medical University, Chief Physician of the Center for Manual Therapy, for his assistance in preparing the material.

Stunted growth of a girl

So how can a girl stop growing tall? In such cases, the girl will be prescribed special hormonal therapy. This therapy helps suppress the production of certain hormones. It is worth noting that only a specialist has the right to prescribe hormonal medications after a medical examination has been carried out. There is no need to try to self-medicate.

When do boys stop growing?

As already noted, boys and girls grow up very differently. So, as for boys, this process happens much slower for them. All this is because boys begin puberty a couple of years later than girls. So at what age do boys stop growing? While boys may lag behind girls during puberty, they still manage to catch up with them from about 12 to 21 years of age. During this entire period, the boy can grow by 40-64 cm.

Constitutional tallness - what is it?

It is already known when a person stops growing, but this does not help people get rid of complexes associated with great height. Therefore, you need to pay attention to the fact that such high growth is explained by constitutional features.

When, during a medical examination by a specialist, certain disturbances associated with hormonal levels are not found, then there will be no talk of therapeutic intervention.

Many doctors notice that girls are tormented by the question of how to stop growing at 15 years old. Many girls reach a fairly large height by the age of 15, and they don’t want to grow any further. After all, not everyone wants to be tall; many girls begin to grow tall because of their differences from those around them. And many are influenced by modern stereotypes that men choose small ladies rather than tall ones. However, it must be borne in mind that doctors do not recommend somehow interfering with the growth process, especially when the girl’s height is less than 185 cm. If she is taller than 185 cm, then interfering with this process is allowed.

Effectively increasing height during adolescence

Vitamins do play a big role in the growth of a child, just like other nutrients. Having enough saturated and unsaturated fats, protein, fiber, and good carbohydrates with a low glycemic index is of great importance.

Parents who do not care about the nutrition of their children and believe that their child will, in any case, grow up the way his heredity dictates, are simply enemies of their own offspring . This is not about someone starving them or some other extreme thing. This is not the case, because basic instincts will in any case force you to take care of your offspring.

It’s just that we have practically no food culture as such. The only exceptions are if the parents in the family are interested in a healthy lifestyle or, on duty, are specialists in the field of endocrinology and other related sciences. Since parents don’t have a nutritional culture, their children won’t have it either.

If you think I’m exaggerating, just look around in a large grocery supermarket, paying attention to the baskets of people with children and what the children are holding: chips, sweet soda, cheap juices, baked goods. This is how, from childhood, a child’s body is acidified with orthophosphoric acid (there is a lot of it in sweet soda), insulin resistance develops (due to the huge amount of sugar), and the developing organs and cells receive trans fats, as a result of which they begin to malfunction.

In turn, overtly fat parents often have the same children, and it’s not a matter of heredity. A child's body is a perfectly functioning biological machine, processing nutrients at great speed and converting them into new tissues. But if you fill it with food crap, then at the same tremendous speed the body will begin to fill with this very bad thing.

Bad habits in food consumption and unbalanced nutrition are especially dangerous during puberty, when a hormonal boom begins in the child’s body, provoking active growth of the whole organism, the final formation of the reproductive system and the development of the endocrine system as a whole. Boys produce testosterone, which is responsible for muscle growth, and a huge amount of growth hormone is produced, which is responsible for the development of the entire body as a whole, including the overall height of a citizen.

If there is a lack of natural saturated and unsaturated fats, there will be problems with the development of the hormonal system. There is enough fat, but sugar constantly enters the body - the production of growth hormone is inhibited. Not enough protein - problems with muscle growth and organ development.

The most important thing to understand is that there are no miracles . The body cannot form the missing “building material” from nothing. Thus, if a child during puberty is malnourished or, due to formed incorrect habits (I eat this, I don’t eat that; I don’t want meat or buckwheat, but I’m happy to eat fried potatoes and cake) eats poorly, then growth may well slow down , and physical development in general.

Indirect confirmation of this is the story when a child at home was puny and small, went to the army in a good unit or to a military school and returned healthy and tall. There was no routine at home, no physical activity, and insufficient nutrition. In a new place, everything was the other way around, while the hormonal system did not give up trying to make the body grow. Here is the result.

But if you continue the wrong lifestyle and or if the body does not receive the substances it needs for development, then it will remain frail and stunted (or fat and round). Yes, then almost everything can be corrected, you can get rid of excess weight, put your body in order, but in most cases the lost centimeters of growth cannot be returned.

Thus, the most important thing for guys under 25 and girls under 18 to maximize their growth potential is reasonable nutrition , high-quality physical activity and good healthy sleep . The bulk of growth hormone is produced during sleep. In sleep, the body recovers and grows.

In addition, it is extremely important not to smoke , drink alcohol or other fun substances. Read more about this below.

As for physical activity, to increase growth (or realize the full potential of the body in this direction) the following help well:

• Hanging on the horizontal bar (15–30 seconds several times a day). An option for boys is hanging with a small weight (2–5 kg), additionally hanging on your feet.
• Exercises for flexibility and stretching of the spine . Yoga practice (lying spinal extension, cat stretches, Cobra exercise), wall bars, etc. A flexible spine is a healthy spine.
• Exercises by Viktor Lonsky . Good physical condition is required, but the system works. Thanks to her, Rustam Akhmetov, with a height of 165 cm at the age of 16, increased it to 187 cm in three years, became a high jump champion, one of the best jumpers of the USSR and the world. Includes hanging with weights, high jumps, climbing a hill (or stairs), and exercises in the pool.
• Swimming . Especially when using the breaststroke style. During the process, the body is subjected to constant stretching with periods of relaxation. Training at least three times a week for an hour each.
• A ride on the bicycle . It is important to raise the saddle so that you have to reach for the pedals with your toes while riding. A good way to increase the length of your legs.

How to stop growth?

There are certain methods that will help stop the growth process. However, among these methods there are those that are considered dangerous to use or must be used under the strict supervision of a doctor.

Options that will answer the question of how to stop growing in height include:

1. Hormonal therapy. As already noted, hormonal medications that interfere with “increase in centimeters” can only be prescribed by doctors and after real developmental problems have been identified. Often, to stop the growth process, they turn to the use of the drug “Ethinyl estradiol”. Only an endocrinologist can determine the dosage and how long to use the drug.
2. Use of anabolic steroids. It is a known fact that a child with asthma who uses a steroid-based inhaler will be about 5 cm shorter than his peers. But it is important to note that nothing is known about the effectiveness of their use in adults, so resort to this method yourself as an adult Not recommended. In addition, steroids are prohibited by law in the Russian Federation.
3. Sleep problems, lack of sleep. The production of somatotropin occurs only during sleep, which is what causes insomnia; sleep problems can negatively affect the potential growth of your children.
4. Bad habits. Smoking is often associated with effects on growth development, but there is no evidence to support this. But if you believe the statistics of researchers, then if a child smokes, he will be significantly shorter in height than his peers who are not susceptible to bad habits.

How to increase height

1. Surgery

The essence of the method: the shins are broken and fixed for 12 months with a special device.

Pros: the only method that provides a 100% guarantee of increased height.

Minuses:

• prolonged hospital stay;
• high risk of complications;
• movement restrictions;
• high price.

Result: increase in height by 5-10 cm.

2. Pharmacological method

The essence of the method: the prescription of hormonal drugs that stimulate bone growth.

Pros: treatment is outpatient and painless.

Minuses:

• risk of disruption of the body's hormonal status;
• The effectiveness of the use of drugs is limited by age - tablets are used until the “growth zones” close.

Result: accelerated growth (10-12 cm per year) in the first two years of treatment.

3. Exercise, stretching

The essence of the method: dosed physical activity, stretching exercises, hanging on the horizontal bar strengthens bones and makes metabolic processes more intense. Stretching exercises develop joint mobility and restore intervertebral discs.

Pros: strengthening and healing the body.

Minuses:

• unproven effectiveness;
• it is easy to achieve an “overdose” (intense exercise and weight-bearing exercises) - growth slows down due to compaction of the intervertebral discs.

Result: a slight (3-5 cm) increase in height occurs due to the restoration of mobility in the joints, correction of unnoticed curvatures of the spine and straightening of posture.

Fictions on how to influence the growth process

Often people who are puzzled by the question of how to stop growing in height resort to stupid and completely useless methods. The methods they choose cannot affect growth at all, but they can negatively affect the general condition of a person. In order not to suffer from such useless and harmful ways to stop growth, you should sort out the most popular myths about this.

These include:

1. Eliminating calcium from the diet. People often believe that it has an effect on bone development. However, this is wrong, because calcium only affects the strengthening of teeth and bones. You should not completely exclude it from the diet, because its lack is fraught with pulmonary spasms and even the occurrence of rickets.
2. Carrying heavy things. If children carry heavy things, for example, a heavy backpack, this will negatively affect the child’s posture, and not at all on his growth.
3. Too much caffeine. If caffeine is used as a growth inhibitor, the child may become really paranoid or overactive. However, this will not help influence the growth process in any way. That is why this method is very harmful and should not be used.

If people stop actively growing, then their body naturally inhibits the production of certain hormones. But the use of artificial stimulation of such a process can negatively affect the health of the growing organism.

It should be remembered that there is no need to get carried away with self-medication; it is recommended to seek help from doctors. And in the case when nothing helps you stop growth, try to simply love and accept yourself, giving up looking for ways to stop growing.

Healthy lifestyle and growth

This factor is usually underestimated, but in many cases it is the cause of growth retardation, or even its absence. A bad habit like smoking directly affects growth. And the dependence here is directly proportional - the more a teenager (or even a child, as is often the case now) smokes, the less he grows, or even does not grow at all. But what has a positive effect on growth is playing sports. Exercises such as, for example, hanging on a bar, are especially good in this sense. Among sports games and sports that have a positive effect on a child’s growth, we note volleyball and swimming, as well as high jumping and basketball, since in these sports, in order to achieve certain results, one often has to stretch oneself literally. The only thing to avoid is extreme physical activity. Not only is this simply harmful for a fragile child’s body, it also has no effect on growth, but regular and moderate dynamic loads are exactly what is needed for the normal growth of a child.