Not too delighted about how tall you are? But can you do anything about it?

Well, millions across the world dream of being tall. While doctors and scientists have always maintainted that eating a good diet, nutrition, and exercise can add inches to your height as a child, many studies have been conducted to find out if an adult can add inches to their frame.

Experts say many factors contribute to our overall height – a few of which include your genes, the kind of food you eat, your lifestyle, and percentage of daily activity. According to studies, genes account for only 60-80 per cent of your height and that factor cannot be controlled. But the rest 40-20 per cent is in your hands.

For most people, height will not increase after 18.

According to statistics, as we grow, till puberty most people increase their average height by about 2 inches every year. And after adolescence, it may increase at the rate of 4 per cent till they reach adulthood or the age of 18 years. In this period, the body stops growing vertically.

Studies say one of the main reasons why height stops increasing is your bones - specifically the growth plates, located in the area of tissue near the ends of long bones in children and teens that determines the future length and shape of the mature bone.

Each long bone has at least two growth plates, one at each end, and they are longer than they are wide. You grow taller primarily due to the lengthening of your long bones, as the growth plates are still active or “open.” But as puberty ends, hormonal changes take place in the body, causing the growth plates to harden or “close” and the lengthening of bones to stop.

Growth plates close around age 16 years in women and somewhere between ages 14-19 years in men.

So, those who are unhappy with their height get disheartened if they could ever grow taller. But worry not, as there are a few ways and means to increase your height, even though very substantial, by making some simple changes in your lifestyle. However, doctors say that the growth can happen only around 18-19 years, and not throughout your life.

Overall, there are things you can do to maximize your height potential in your late teenage years. Some of those things are:

As kids, when the body is growing in size and shaping various internal organs, like the heart, brain, etc., make sure to eat enough vitamins and minerals so that no deficiency could lead to a stall in your height.

Nutrients like vitamin D and calcium are very important for strong bones, especially long bones, that strengthen and can increase in length. Another great way to promote optimal bone growth is to increase your intake of seasonal fruits and vegetables.

Not only can smoking regularly stunt your personal growth, but it can also affect the growth of those around you. According to a study, children whose mothers smoked 10 or more cigarettes a day were, on average, 0.65cm shorter than the children of non-smokers.

Experts say cigarette smoking adversely affects endochondral ossification during skeletal growth because of nicotine. It can also reduce or restrict growth by curbing a smoker’s appetite.

According to doctors, erratic sleep schedule in the long run can stunt a young person’s growth. That happens because the growth hormone is normally released during sleep and if you consistently get too little sleep growth hormone is suppressed.

Poor posture can make you look shorter than you are. It is extremely important to take care of your sitting and standing posture when it comes to reaching your true height. Over time your poor posture can provoke your body to slump and slouch which can stunt your actual height.

Hunched shoulders, text neck, and curved spine can for curves and shift to accommodate your new posture. It also causes pain in the neck and the back.

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