I hit full height by the time I was about 12 years old.  I remember wishing that I would grow taller, at least by the extra quarter of an inch I needed to make an even five foot four, but I never did.  I’m still five foot three and three quarters, same as I was at age 12.

Of course, as an adult I’ve found that preteen girls start and end their growth spurts long before boys do.  So I hit full height before many of the boys my age had really even started growing taller.

I know that a good deal of height is hereditary.  I wonder, though if there are some ways to grow taller than you would have otherwise.  I know that exercise can change your body type and structure, so why not your height, too?  For instance, my younger sister was a gymnast during the years when she was growing, and even today, her body is broader, stronger, and more muscular than mine — even when she isn’t currently working out.  The body she developed during puberty as a gymnast has just stuck with her all these years.

There are other examples, too.  Immigrants’ children often grow taller than their parents, simply because of the abundance of nutrition in the food we have available in America.  Obviously it’s possible to grow taller than you think you can!

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