Growing up I wasn’t too concerned about height and consider myself of average height. Now I’m a mother I find it even more fascinating how babies of any species grow, from their teeny tiny fingers, arms, legs and feet to all their organs! It’s miraculous. And looking around and seeing variations of both children and adults height. God has certainly created all creatures great and small. This leads me to ponder is our height primarily set in our DNA or is there any scope to change it… Giving those who are of a shorter stature hope that they can boost their height.
Scientific studies estimate that 60–80% of adult height is genetically determined, meaning DNA inherited from parents has a strong influence. Height is a polygenic trait, controlled by thousands of genetic variants, many of which influence the activity of growth plates, the cartilage structures at the ends of long bones that allow bones to lengthen during childhood and adolescence.
Nutrition & Environment
The remaining 20–40% of height variation is influenced by environmental factors — particularly nutrition, health, stress levels, and chronic illness during childhood and adolescence.
Research consistently shows that children who experience: undernutrition, frequent infection, chronic inflammation, micronutrient deficiencies, high physiological stress are less likely to reach their genetically programmed height.
Can Our Diet Make Adults Taller?
Once growth plates fuse, typically by the late teens diet cannot increase height. However, nutrition continues to play a role in: bone density, posture, spinal health, prevention of height loss with ageing. As adults we may not grow taller, but we can absolutely protect the height we have.
Key Nutrients That Support Growth
Growth is a metabolically demanding process. The body requires adequate energy, protein and specific micronutrients to support bone elongation, cartilage formation and hormonal signalling.
Key nutrients include:
- Protein – essential for tissue growth and IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor) production
- Calcium & Phosphorus – structural components of bone
- Vitamin D – enables calcium absorption and bone mineralisation
- Zinc – critical for growth hormone activity and cell division
- Magnesium – supports bone structure and enzymatic reactions
- Vitamin A – involved in growth plate regulation
- Iron – supports oxygen delivery and energy metabolism
Deficiencies — even mild or intermittent during key growth periods can impair height outcomes.
What About Dairy?
Dairy is not essential for growth, but it has historically been associated with increased height because it provides a dense package of growth-supporting nutrients, particularly protein, calcium, phosphorus and zinc.
Several large observational studies have found that milk intake is associated with increased levels of IGF-1, a hormone strongly linked to linear growth. However, similar growth outcomes can be achieved through well-planned non-dairy diets that provide equivalent nutrients from other sources.