Is your height below the average for your age?
The average height for 14-year-old boys in the U.S. is 64.5 inches or 5 feet 4½ inches (164 cm.) For 14-year-old girls in the U.S. the average height is 62.5 inches or 5 feet 2½ inches (158.75 cm.) You may be here because it is your desire to be as tall as possible, especially now that you are getting closer to becoming an adult. You might be worried that once you reach the age limit of physical growth you will have missed your opportunity to be of average height or even taller.
What determines height and weight of a 14 year old?
Please keep in mind the height and weight for a 14-year-old varies depending on many factors including diet, genetics, environment and many such factors. It is important to recognize that children as well as young adults have growth spurts throughout their adolescent years. During this time in their lives it is fairly easy to gain and lose weight rapidly, along with adding inches to their height sometimes seemingly overnight. This is particularly so in many teenage girls who commonly experience significant changes in their weight, bone make-up, height, and body fat distribution. For instance, teenagers undergoing adolescence will have numerous changes in their developing bodies as their bones and muscles undergo change.
It is a smart idea to go over a height and weight chart which are utilized by pediatricians in order to help establish how tall as well as how big a boy might become as an adult. These graphs can also be used to identify whether or not your child is overweight and at risk for certain clinical conditions.
There is a formula you can use of to compute a boy's potential height as an adult. For a child, it is the dad's height plus the mom's height divided by 2 plus 2.5 inches; for a girl, it is minus 2.5 inches. Therefore, based upon the dad's height and the mom's height, the boy's future height is determined. Remember that this number is only an approximation. Likewise, children do not start their growth spurt during puberty until they are about 14-years old. Although boys who tend to be short and also girls that have the tendency to be tall are very self-conscious about their stature throughout these preteen as teenage years. The parents should complement their child on his or her various other strengths to help improve their self-esteem. For some boys this time period in their lives can be very stressful if they seem to be short for their age.
If you are still in this age range and you come from a family that's tall on average but you are noticing that your friends and other people your age are growing faster than you, you should consider consulting with your doctor.
Average Height Growth Charts
There are growth charts for different age groups that consist of a series of percentile curves that illustrate the distribution of selected body measurements in youngsters. These charts are used by pediatricians, nurses, and parents to make sure a child is healthy, growing, and developing properly.
Did you know that we all are taller in the morning right after we wake up? But we lose that extra height by the afternoon. This is because the disks in our spines compress and expand during the day. They expand as we sleep and compress as we stand due to gravity.
To aid with growth there are certain lifestyle changes you need to make and activities you need to engage in. Two important examples are diet and exercise. It is a good idea consult with a specialist before engaging in any activity or starting a diet to help you with your height development.
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Teenage height chart
To begin, it is important to follow accurate growth charts to track your height development. The chart on the left was developed by the National Center for Health Statistics in collaboration with the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health.
Diet plan basics for height increase
Calorie needs for teens 14 to 16 years old differ depending on gender as well as activity, and also vary from 1,600 to 3,200 calories daily. Your pediatrician could assist you in identifying your teen's calorie requirements. Based upon these calorie levels, teens in this age group require 5 to 10 ounces of grains with at least half of them whole grains, 2 to 4 cups of vegetables, 1.5 to 2.5 cups of fruits, 3 cups of dairy and 5 to 7 ounces of healthy protein every day.
The value of a good breakfast
Morning meals help to maintain a healthy and balanced weight as well as improve school grade performance. An great morning meal for a teenager may include 1 to 2 ounces of whole-grain ready-to-eat grain with 1 cup of nonfat milk and also 1 cup of watermelon. A good alternative can be a fruit smoothie mix made with 1/2 cups of strawberries, 1/2 cup of blueberries and one container of low-fat Greek yogurt combined with ice served with a 1- to 2-ounce whole-wheat bagel. Milk as well as yogurt are excellent resources of calcium, which is necessary for bone growth. Teenage girls are at risk of not eating sufficient calcium, according to a report that came out in the 2010 Dietary Guidelines.
Fourteen year olds are smart enough to understand the importance of a healthy diet, but the temptation of fast foods and tasty junk snacks can sway them away form eating foods that help them with their health. It is important for parents to constantly remind their children to stay away from eating things that hinder proper development.
Get plenty of sleep
On key factor in how to grow taller is to get plenty of sleep – because it is when we fall asleep that our bodies produce human growth hormone. That's why doctors normally recommend plenty of deep sleep giving our bodies time to recover from a full day's activities. This means that when you sleep your growth plates are open and you are getting growth hormone, this will help you to continue to get taller. Make sure that you are sleeping on a good mattress that offers good back support. Try out different mattresses before you buy one. The best position to put the least amount of pressure on your back is to sleep on your back. This puts the least amount of pressure on your spine.
There are many things going on in our bodies when we get proper sleep:
- It restores the whole body
- Muscles are relaxed
- Blood supply to the muscles increases
- Tissue growth and repair occurs
- Energy is restored
- It supports daytime performance
- It restores energy to the brain and body
- Hormones are released, such as: Growth hormone, essential for growth and development, including muscle development
It is a good idea to keep these points in mind next time you think of staying up late.
While genetics is the major contributor that determines what your height will be, there are also other important factors to take into consideration.
Now that you are 14 years old, you may be wondering if there is something that you can do to make a difference as to how tall you will become. The good news is, yes.
Several factors such as posture, what sort of foods you eat, and what kind of food supplements you take with your meals, can all have a positive or negative effect on how tall you will become. Stay away from junk food and eat a well-balanced diet.
A well-balanced diet normally consists of as wide a range of meats as possible, including beef, beef liver, chicken, fish and other meets. You also need to have plenty of milk and milk products, as well as a wide range of vegetables, including basic ones such as potatoes and green leafy vegetables.