What determines height of your child

I was told yesterday that to work out how tall your child will be as an adult, you take the height they are at 2 years old and double it and that will be the height your child will be. Is this true?

What determines the height of your child. Is it the father or mother, for example my daughter is 2 and she is 88cm which means if the above is true she will be 176cm. My husband is 177cm and I am 165cm.

Height is determined by both genes and the environment; it is therefore described as multifactorial. The genes involved are not known, but probably relate to growth hormone and growth hormone receptors, genes affecting bone proportions and other growth factors. In 2001, there was a report from the University of Melbourne that a gene called aromatase on chromosome 15 and another gene on the Y chromosome contribute to height. There are estimated to be between 7-20 genes that contribute to a person’s height.


I do not know if you can predict a child’s height by his or her age at 2 years. Is this an old wives tale?

Height is also influenced by many environmental factors including, diet, smoking during pregnancy and the child’s general health during childhood.

The following websites discuss the relationship between height and genes:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_height
http://www.thetech.org/genetics/ask.php?id=98
http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/health/HealthRepublish_363100.htm

regards
Dr Jane Fleming

<a href="http://www.cmri.com.au/">CMRI</a>