I am 15 and will turn 16 in two months. I am 5'2" and I'm much shorter than all of the relatives. However everyone on my paternal side is about my height or shorter. My mum is 5'4" and my Dad is 5'7". I have started doing aerobics for 1 hour every day. I'm not sure what kind of aerobics its called, but it involve a lot of stretching of the arms and calves and things like that. Do you think I can expect to reasonably gain some height and maybe lose some wight as well. Do I still have time to grow and if so, how much? How do I know if my bones are still "grow-able"? I'll probably do aerobics for a year or so.
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The only way I know of to tell if your "bones are still 'grow-able'" is to have an image done of your bones, like an x-ray. This will reveal whether or not you still have growth plates, meaning your bones are still forming. At your age, however, you could continue to grow for several more years.– Nathan WheelerCommented May 2, 2014 at 16:01
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4 Answers
Aerobics won't make you taller, however at age 15/16 you are still growing. Girls are still growing until around 18 and boys i believe is early 20's. it's hard to say how much more you will grow and when, as everyone is different.
A combination of eating a good diet and exercise will help you lose weight.
answered Mar 29, 2014 at 18:43
Will aerobics make you taller? No, it won't. It'll strengthen your heart and lungs; it'll also tone your body and increase your energy. But it will not make you taller.
That being said, some studies reveal that performing exercises that stretch your back and spine (such as hanging from a bar) can increase your height. Also (purely my observation with no resources whatsoever), it seems that most people who perform certain jumping/stretching sports such as basketball, tennis, and swimming tend to be taller. So (if you're already interested in those sports and need a reason to try them out), you can give them a shot.
You still have many years until your growing peak.
Consume food that can help your body grow:
- Milk Drink this daily to strengthen your bones and teeth. It might also give you some boost in height (source)
- Protein: Meat, cheese, and eggs are examples of protein food that you should consume regularly. The protein's job is to repair your body and replenishes it. With good genes, this can cause an increase in height (not a guarantee). However, those food are still necessary for your body (source)
- Some cultures believe that eating beans and certain legumes regularly makes one grow taller. Again, researches haven't absolutely confirmed those studies.
As for losing weight, ditch fatty food, eat more nutritious meals and exercise regularly. You still have a natural metabolism that should make weight-loss easier for you.
Discuss these ideas with your parents (PE or nutrition teacher) and see if you can try these ideas out. They certainly won't hurt you and would be good for you. Also (if you're fortunate), they'll increase your height as well.
EDIT
I actually found some sources that corroborate the above theory about people performing certain sports growing taller than average (this) and this. If a legitimate source is found, the answer will be updated with it.
Good luck.
answered Mar 30, 2014 at 0:10
I can't make any claims to having tried this for growing taller, but I wish I had known this information when I was younger.
Interval training has been found to increase human growth hormone by a significant amount. (1)
Growth hormone is sometimes given to kids to help them grow taller. (2)
You can draw possible conclusions from there.
Personally, I would not recommend increasing HGH levels synthetically.
1. Effects of interval training on HGH
2. Growth hormone increases height
Actually aerobics make you taller indirectly. When you put weight on your bones they will grow with proper diet. Keep up the good work
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Actually, I did check the one you just removed from your comment (Quick benefits of interval training versus continuous training on bone: a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry comparative study). I don't see the connection. The study was done on rats, and, there's no mention of the word 'aerobics' in the abstract.– rrirowerCommented Feb 8, 2016 at 13:56
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I started copying and pasting the links then I deleted since there were a lot. In the study, the authors speculate that "IT and CT groups have whole body and femur BMD gains (IT is better by the way)" which means putting pressure on bones makes it stronger. That is why I put "indirectly" in my comment above. Commented Feb 8, 2016 at 14:03
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@bantandor - Yes, exercise is known to make bones stronger. It does not, however, make them longer.– JohnP ♦Commented Feb 17, 2016 at 14:12