Guides
Seven guides to height, in reading order
Each guide answers one part of the question "how do I grow taller?" using guidance from public health and regulatory agencies. They build on each other, but each one stands alone. All were last reviewed against their sources on 2026-10-22.
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Guide 01
What actually determines how tall you are
Genes, nutrition, health, hormones and sleep: how each shapes height, and why inherited variants account for most of the difference between people.
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Guide 02
How growth works, and when it stops
Growth plates, the puberty growth spurt and why height stops increasing once the plates close, explained with the timing health agencies describe.
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Guide 03
Growth charts and percentiles, explained
What the curves on a child growth chart mean, why the pattern over time matters more than one number, and which charts are used at which ages.
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Guide 04
Height myths checked: stretching, hanging, pills and insoles
The common promises for adding height, from stretching routines to growth supplements, checked against what health and regulatory agencies say.
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Guide 05
Sleep, food and activity: what supports a growing child
Why enough sleep, a varied diet and daily activity support normal growth in children, and why none of them can push height past what genes allow.
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Guide 06
When to talk to a doctor about a child's growth
The signs that make a child's growth worth raising with a paediatrician, what an assessment can involve, and why hormone treatment is a specialist decision.
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Guide 07
Posture, the spine and losing height later in life
Why posture habits do not change bone length, how osteoporosis can cost height in later life, and what health agencies say about scoliosis and posture.