The question “If my parents are short, can my child be tall?” is a top concern of many parents, because height affects their child’s appearance, confidence and even career opportunities. However, most parents do not know that nutritional factors account for up to 32% of their child’s future body shape. This means that children can still grow tall even if their parents are not tall if they know the following “height increasing secrets”.
Contents
1. Can parents who are short have a tall child?
Can parents who are short have a tall child? The answer is yes! A child’s height depends on three main factors: genetics (23%), nutrition (32%), and exercise (20%). Although genetic factors play a role, diet, exercise and quality sleep all help children develop optimal height, even if their parents are not tall.
Therefore, the secret for short parents to raise exceptionally tall children is to focus on factors that can be changed such as menu, exercise regimen and sleep. To understand how each factor affects a child’s height and ways to help children develop outstanding stature, parents should read the next part of the article.
2. Factors that determine children’s height
After answering the question “If my parents are short, can my child be tall?”, parents need to clearly understand the factors that affect their child’s height. A child’s height is affected by many factors and each factor will have a certain level of influence, specifically as follows:
2.1 Genetic factors
According to Doctor Huynh Thi Vu Quynh – Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital, height development is not the same as weight gain, a child’s height depends on many factors, if you only care about supplementing this factor. If other factors are ignored, the child will not be able to achieve the height and weight that parents desire. So what are these factors and how important are they?
Based on combined results from research on genes and genetics, scientists conclude that height does not only depend on genetics: Genetic makeup only accounts for 23% of a child’s height. Nearly 80% depends on diet, exercise and environment. Specifically: nutrition 32%, exercise 20%, environment (sleep, activities, living environment…) is 25%.
The information that HIUP mentioned above is evidence that helps support the statement “If parents are short, their children can still grow up normally.” Reading this, surely many parents can breathe a sigh of relief and feel good about their baby’s future.
2.2 Growth hormone
Operating under the regulation of genes, Growth Hormone (or growth hormone) plays an important role in the development of stature in young children.
Growth hormone is produced throughout the body’s life, playing a role in increasing cell protein synthesis, converting food into energy, activating growth plates to create new bones and lengthening bones. Growth hormone is secreted most when children sleep at night and during sports activities during the day.
2.3 Endocrine diseases
In addition to genetic factors (genes) and growth hormone, endocrine diseases related to excess or deficiency of growth hormone GH, can include Turner syndrome, Cushing syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome, Down syndrome… all cause a child’s height to slow down or grow slowly in the early stages of life or during puberty.
2.4 Early puberty
Precocious puberty is the phenomenon of puberty before age 8 for girls or before age 10 for boys. Children with early puberty may be slightly taller than their peers, but due to the rapid bone maturation process, the bones close earlier, leading to stagnation or delay in height growth later on.
2.5 Environmental factors
Environment is also one of the factors that can slow down height growth in children. Children living in a cramped, polluted environment and exposed to toxic chemicals are often susceptible to infectious diseases from bacteria and viruses, which in turn causes the immune system to work overtime to cope. .
As a result, the amount of vitamins and minerals in the child’s body will be quickly depleted, thereby causing stunting, slow weight and height growth and poor health.
In addition, economic and social status, and academic pressure are also environmental factors that negatively affect the baby’s hormones and growth process. Therefore, parents should actively create a joyful and happy atmosphere for their children, ensuring the best living conditions for their children to develop.
2.6 Physical diseases
Some types of diseases such as kidney, heart, digestive, lung, bone and endocrine diseases can cause growth retardation and appear along with many other diseases. Slow growth in children is often the first symptom of the above diseases, which can then develop into chronic diseases that prevent absorbing enough nutrients and harm the child’s digestive system.
Congenital diseases during pregnancy often limit the development of the fetus in the uterus, thereby affecting the child’s future height.
2.7 Dietary deficiencies
A poor, unscientific diet causes children to be malnourished, underweight, stunted, and unable to keep up with the growth rate of their peers. In fact, even though children are slow to gain height and weight due to genetics or disease, when they have a scientific and nutritious diet, they can still grow normally.
In cases of children with growth disorders, it is difficult to determine the exact cause. Parents should take their children to clinics and hospitals to have experts diagnose the disease and provide timely solutions.
2.8 Psychology and emotions
Stress can negatively affect height growth. Therefore, parents need to create a happy and comfortable living environment to help their children develop best. A study has shown that children living in stressful and anxious environments are at high risk of delayed height growth compared to their peers.
This is because stress affects the secretion of growth hormone. Therefore, creating a warm, loving and emotionally supportive family environment for children is very important.
Eating culture and social environment also have a great influence on children’s height development. For example, in Asian countries such as Japan, the change in diet after World War II – from a diet low in protein and calcium to one rich in nutrients – has contributed to significant height growth of the next generation.
2.10 Education about children’s health
Parents’ awareness of the importance of nutrition and exercise for children’s height development is a key factor. For example, parents who know how to choose foods rich in calcium and protein for their children, as well as encourage their children to participate in physical activities, will help their children develop optimal height.
3. Secrets to help short parents raise exceptionally tall children
In addition to genetics – a factor that cannot be intervened, most other factors such as nutrition, exercise, and living environment that directly affect a child’s height can be changed. Scientists point out 3 “golden stages” for children’s outstanding development: the fetal stage, the 0-2 year old stage and the puberty stage.
In Vietnam, parents often ignore or do not pay too much attention to the fetal stage and the 0-2 year old period and only focus on the puberty stage. This is partly due to lack of understanding and the mentality of following the crowd that puberty is the period when children develop the most strongly. Therefore, Vietnamese children are born accidentally “losing” these two important stages.
Therefore, if parents with modest height want to improve their children’s height, they need to have optimal measures and timely intervention, especially during the “golden stages” of their children.
According to Dr. Tran Thi Na, Department of Nutrition – National Children’s Hospital, nutrition plays an important role in promoting height increase in children, if parents have reasonable food choices. Balanced nutrition, full of essential substances for height development such as calcium, vitamin D, protein, fat… is a method to increase height to help children achieve their genetic height potential.
In addition, when exercising outdoors, babies also synthesize vitamin D from sunlight, contributing to optimizing the absorption of calcium from food into bones.
3.3 Ensure sleep quality
Good sleep helps children’s bodies recover and grow taller effectively by increasing growth hormone production, especially during puberty.
During the period from 10pm to 1am, bones and growth hormones are most active, which is the “golden time” for the baby’s body to be nourished and the bones to “lengthen”. Besides, a quiet, clean sleeping environment will help children maximize their height and limit diseases. Let’s train your baby to have a habit of sleeping early and on time every day so that they can grow tall, parents!
3.4 Limit feeding children fast food
Fast food and stimulants not only prevent calcium absorption in the body, but also “withdraw” valuable calcium from bones, affecting height growth in children.
Children’s consumption of fast food and stimulants such as coffee, beer, alcohol, and energy drinks also affects the activity of the pituitary gland, negatively affecting sleep, making it more difficult for children to sleep, thereby making it harder for children to sleep. Reduces the amount of Growth Hormone secreted.
3.5 Medical support
Growth hormone deficiency can affect height development. In this case, medical intervention using growth hormone can help your child develop optimal height.
For example, children with Turner syndrome, a genetic disorder that affects women, are often short in height and may be prescribed growth hormone therapy to improve height. However, parents should note that all decisions about medical intervention should be made under the close supervision of a doctor.
3.6 Help your child grow taller with HIUP milk
If parents are short, can their children be tall? With HIUP, it’s completely possible, parents. HIUP milk is a combination of organic calcium from red seaweed and the CaD3K2 trio, providing complete nutrition for the comprehensive height development of children. The special thing about HIUP milk is that in addition to increasing height, this milk line helps children strengthen their brain, gain weight and improve their digestive system extremely effectively.
Currently on the market, HIUP is being “hunted” by millions of Vietnamese parents because of its outstanding height increasing effectiveness. Licensed and certified by the Ministry of Health for safety, ISO 22000:2018, HACCP, etc. HIUP affirms that it is a high-quality milk line that completely solves stunting in children, including stunting caused by gene.
4. Suggestions for effective height growth foods for children
To ensure that children’s height growth progresses smoothly, parents need to pay attention to providing enough important nutrients through a reasonable diet. Below are some suggestions for nutritious food groups that are beneficial for your baby’s height growth.
Fresh milk, yogurt, whey: Sources of calcium, protein and vitamin D help develop healthy bones.
Pork, chicken, fish, eggs: Rich in protein, calcium, phosphorus, zinc for bone development.
Green vegetables and fruits: Provide vitamins and minerals to support calcium absorption and nutrient metabolism.
Beans: Important source of plant protein rich in calcium, phosphorus, copper, magnesium, and zinc.
To fully meet your nutritional needs, build a diverse, balanced diet that combines the above food groups. Supplementing milk to increase height is also the optimal choice.
So HIUP has helped parents answer the question “Can short parents have tall children?” “. Just because your parents are short doesn’t mean your child will be short. If parents are of modest height, their children can still grow tall if they are provided with adequate nutrition, regular exercise, enough sleep and a good living environment.
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