Guest guest Posted March 1, 2004 Report Share Posted March 1, 2004 Kids grow at different rates; I was 5' 2 " when I went to college, but I grew another 7 " by the time I was 20. I've known several teen girls who did their last growing spurt after 18. I doubt if the growth rate is vegetarian related; my vegetarian boy is 10 and is 2 standard deviation units taller than his age norm. You can check the growth charts at the CDC website. 4'9 " at age 15 doesn't sound like something far outside of statistical measures of central tendency. -- Be kind. Be of good cheer. Dick Ford Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 2, 2004 Report Share Posted March 2, 2004 Well, I don't have recomendations for you, but just thought I would tell you, that even though I grew up on a meat eating diet, I am very short. I am 5'4 " , which isn't that short, but for the women in my family, it is extremely short. My mom is 6'1 " , my sister ranger from 6'3 " down to 5'10 " , and then there is me a squaty 5'4 " , and not even quite that! I stopped growing, as the rest of the women in my family, at around the age of 13. Never to grow again. Some people are just short, and it is just like anything else in life, coming with pros and cons. I look at it this way, I had more choice in boyfriends than taller girls. LOL! But I couldn't reach anything, and people made lude comments about my height. If she is healthy, chances are she may be short. It seems to me, stunted growth come with some kind of malnutrition, but I could be wrong about this. I know where I get my shortness from, my grandmother who peeked at 4'5 " tall. Yes, this is the same grandmother that gave birth to my Amazon mother, and her Amazon sister. LOL! Melanie AtlantaGaia wrote: My daughter, who has been vegetarian since birth, just turned 15. She has been remarkably healthy all her life, eluding the pernicious ailments--from ear infections to flu--beseiging her peers. She is very intelligent, talented, and successful in school. She eats well from a variety of vegetarian sources and is at an ideal weight for her height. She is not slim but has the body of a gymnist or athlete. She is fairly strong and has good energy. About every 4 months, I measure her height, and plot it on a chart. In the past 6 months, her growth has pretty much stopped at 4'9 " . Now her mother is just 5'2 " and I am 5'8 " so we knew she'd not be a candidate for the NBA, but I assumed she'd at least best her mom. Needless to say, her height has had some negative social repercussions. Recently she and I were downtown and some man made a crude comment about her being a midget. She has always been shortest in her class. Having been a member of VegeDine, the vegetarian dietician's group, in the 80's, I recall reading that vegetarian children typically lag behind in growth, but will catch up about 1.5 years after their animal-diet peers. Perhaps she'll have another growth spurt after this plateau? Do any vegan or vegetarian parents out there have any experience with this phase of growth in a teen? Are there any vitamins which would enhance growth at this stage (she takes a weekly vegetarian formula multivitamin)? Does anyone out there have any experience with growth hormones for underheight children? Any recommendations, anecdotes or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your kind attention. John Atlanta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 2, 2004 Report Share Posted March 2, 2004 I am 5 4 " - my husband is 5 8 " - And we have a beautiful 14 yr old healthy, slim vegetarian daughter - Not vegan - but strict vegetarian her entire life - who is over 5 5 " - She has grown at least 6 inches in the past year - she weighs around 100 - But she is healthier than at least 75% of her class - THAT iS THE IMPORTANT WORD - HEALTHY height is hereditary!! As long as she is healthy. Her vegetarian diet does not stunt growth - if she ate meat she would probably be the same height but not as healthy. --- AtlantaGaia wrote: > My daughter, who has been vegetarian since birth, > just turned 15. She has > been remarkably healthy all her life, eluding the > pernicious ailments--from ear > infections to flu--beseiging her peers. She is > very intelligent, talented, > and successful in school. > > She eats well from a variety of vegetarian sources > and is at an ideal weight > for her height. She is not slim but has the body > of a gymnist or athlete. > She is fairly strong and has good energy. > > About every 4 months, I measure her height, and plot > it on a chart. In the > past 6 months, her growth has pretty much stopped at > 4'9 " . Now her mother is > just 5'2 " and I am 5'8 " so we knew she'd not be a > candidate for the NBA, but > I assumed she'd at least best her mom. Needless to > say, her height has had > some negative social repercussions. Recently she > and I were downtown and some > man made a crude comment about her being a midget. > She has always been > shortest in her class. > > Having been a member of VegeDine, the vegetarian > dietician's group, in the > 80's, I recall reading that vegetarian children > typically lag behind in growth, > but will catch up about 1.5 years after their > animal-diet peers. Perhaps > she'll have another growth spurt after this plateau? > > Do any vegan or vegetarian parents out there have > any experience with this > phase of growth in a teen? Are there any vitamins > which would enhance growth > at this stage (she takes a weekly vegetarian formula > multivitamin)? > > Does anyone out there have any experience with > growth hormones for > underheight children? > > Any recommendations, anecdotes or advice would be > greatly appreciated. > > Thank you for your kind attention. > > John > Atlanta > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been > removed] > > > > > For more information about vegetarianism, please > visit the VRG website at http://www.vrg.org and for > materials especially useful for families go to > http://www.vrg.org/family.This is a discussion list > and is not intended to provide personal medical > advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a > qualified health professional. > > edical advice. Medical advice should be obtained > from a qualified health professional. > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 2, 2004 Report Share Posted March 2, 2004 On Mon, 1 Mar 2004 AtlantaGaia wrote: > Do any vegan or vegetarian parents out there have any experience with this > phase of growth in a teen? Are there any vitamins which would enhance growth > at this stage (she takes a weekly vegetarian formula multivitamin)? > > Does anyone out there have any experience with growth hormones for > underheight children? > > Any recommendations, anecdotes or advice would be greatly appreciated. You may be interested in reading this site: http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/welcome/conditions/short_stature.html My children are not yet teens, so I don't have first-hand experience with this issue. However, I have known several women who were as short as your daughter (all meat-eaters, by the way). My understanding, both from them and from what I've read on adolescent development, is that girls generally reach their full adult height between 14 and 16 years of age, and that once their growth has stopped there is little that can be done to increase height. At that point, the growth plates in the bones close and further bone growth is no longer possible. Even growth hormone supplements cannot increase height once the growth plates have closed up. Given your daughter's age and the length of time she has gone without any increase in height, it sounds like she has already reached this stage. I have quite a bit of sympathy for your daughter. For several years I shared an office with a woman who was 4'10 " , and I was astounded at the stupid things people would say to her. This site may also interest you. It's dedicated to supporting people with short stature: http://www.shortsupport.org/index.html ---- Patricia Bullington-McGuire <patricia The brilliant Cerebron, attacking the problem analytically, discovered three distinct kinds of dragon: the mythical, the chimerical, and the purely hypothetical. They were all, one might say, nonexistent, but each nonexisted in an entirely different way ... -- Stanislaw Lem, " Cyberiad " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 2, 2004 Report Share Posted March 2, 2004 I have two kids, both life long vegetarians. I'm 5' 9 " and their mother is 5' 5 " . My 20 year old daughter tells people that she's 5' 2 " , but that's on the anything over 5' 1 " counts scale. My 15 year old son is 6' and still growing. Go figure. Phil Welsher Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 3, 2004 Report Share Posted March 3, 2004 John, Much like Dick I was a " late bloomer " . Both my sisters shot up to their full height before they were 15. I continued to grow when I entered college at 17 and if memory serves I finally stopped when I was 19. I am the " shortest " of my sisters at 5'9 " . My father is 6'4 " and he grew until he was almost 23. Like others have said, in the absence of malnutrition (your daughter's diet is superior to most Americans)it really is a matter of genetics. When I entered college I had a roommate who was 5' and I witnessed many of the rude comments that came her way. Not only that but since I'm tall some folks treated us like a kind of comedy act. It was of course only funny to them, not us. I am so sorry your daughter is having to put up with this kind of nonsense. There is no telling if she'll grow more and to the best of my knowledge there is no safe healthy way to promote growth other than a good diet. Of one thing I'm sure, our world would be such a boring place if we were all the same height. Peace, Stephanie (who was taller than all the boys as an adolescent) , Patricia Bullington-McGuire <patricia@o...> wrote: > On Mon, 1 Mar 2004 AtlantaGaia@a... wrote: > > > Do any vegan or vegetarian parents out there have any experience with this > > phase of growth in a teen? Are there any vitamins which would enhance growth > > at this stage (she takes a weekly vegetarian formula multivitamin)? > > > > Does anyone out there have any experience with growth hormones for > > underheight children? > > > > Any recommendations, anecdotes or advice would be greatly appreciated. > > You may be interested in reading this site: > http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/welcome/conditions/short_stature.html > > My children are not yet teens, so I don't have first-hand experience with > this issue. However, I have known several women who were as short as your > daughter (all meat-eaters, by the way). My understanding, both from them > and from what I've read on adolescent development, is that girls generally > reach their full adult height between 14 and 16 years of age, and that > once their growth has stopped there is little that can be done to increase > height. At that point, the growth plates in the bones close and further > bone growth is no longer possible. Even growth hormone supplements cannot > increase height once the growth plates have closed up. Given your > daughter's age and the length of time she has gone without any increase in > height, it sounds like she has already reached this stage. > > I have quite a bit of sympathy for your daughter. For several years I > shared an office with a woman who was 4'10 " , and I was astounded at the > stupid things people would say to her. > > This site may also interest you. It's dedicated to supporting people with > short stature: http://www.shortsupport.org/index.html > > ---- > Patricia Bullington-McGuire <patricia@o...> > > The brilliant Cerebron, attacking the problem analytically, discovered > three distinct kinds of dragon: the mythical, the chimerical, and the > purely hypothetical. They were all, one might say, nonexistent, but each > nonexisted in an entirely different way ... > -- Stanislaw Lem, " Cyberiad " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 3, 2004 Report Share Posted March 3, 2004 John, I'm sure this is a difficult issue for you. I wish I could give you some really insightful advice or reassurances. It sounds like you are not blaming her veggie diet for her smaller stature, which is good. I have two friends having to consider growth hormones for their younger kids, but neither family is vegetarian. I would like to encourage you to talk to a pediatrician (veg friendly!). At this age she could well have stop growing - I stopped growing even younger than your daughter's age. If your daughter is smaller than you expected (she probably should be a bit taller than her mother, following typical patterns), I personally wouldn't be holding out much hope for a later growth spurt. As I recall, the studies about veggie kids having later growth phases were still referring younger children, but I may be incorrect. There are no vitamins that can help. Just curious - why is she only on a weekly multivitamin? Many vitamins are water-soluble and can stay only in the body for a day or two and need constant replenishment. How does she feel about her height? She sounds like she has a lot going for her otherwise, so making sure her self-esteem remains high would be a priority for me if I were her parent, as I'm sure you consider. But basically, if you are concerned, it's worth talking to a doctor, find out what the options are, find out what the treatment would be, and make a more informed decision. BTW, the prescription hormones are animal-based. Good luck, Doh --------- " We have enough youth. What we need is a Fountain of Smart. " ~Anonymous > AtlantaGaia > Help--My teen daughter is short! > > My daughter, who has been vegetarian since birth, just turned 15. She has > been remarkably healthy all her life, eluding the pernicious ailments--from > ear > infections to flu--beseiging her peers. She is very intelligent, talented, > and successful in school. > > She eats well from a variety of vegetarian sources and is at an ideal weight > for her height. She is not slim but has the body of a gymnist or athlete. > She is fairly strong and has good energy. > > About every 4 months, I measure her height, and plot it on a chart. In the > past 6 months, her growth has pretty much stopped at 4'9 " . Now her mother is > just 5'2 " and I am 5'8 " so we knew she'd not be a candidate for the NBA, but > I assumed she'd at least best her mom. Needless to say, her height has had > some negative social repercussions. Recently she and I were downtown and > some > man made a crude comment about her being a midget. She has always been > shortest in her class. > > Having been a member of VegeDine, the vegetarian dietician's group, in the > 80's, I recall reading that vegetarian children typically lag behind in > growth, > but will catch up about 1.5 years after their animal-diet peers. Perhaps > she'll have another growth spurt after this plateau? > > Do any vegan or vegetarian parents out there have any experience with this > phase of growth in a teen? Are there any vitamins which would enhance growth > at this stage (she takes a weekly vegetarian formula multivitamin)? > > Does anyone out there have any experience with growth hormones for > underheight children? > > Any recommendations, anecdotes or advice would be greatly appreciated. > > Thank you for your kind attention. > > John > Atlanta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 5, 2004 Report Share Posted March 5, 2004 In a message dated 3/3/04 9:28:23 AM, dohdriver writes: > There are no vitamins that can help. Just curious - why is she only on a > weekly multivitamin? Many vitamins are water-soluble and can stay only in > the body for a day or two and need constant replenishment. > any vegetarian who is eating a proper diet doesn't need any vitamins at all ,except a b-complex, which we store in our bodies for many days, hence the weekly vitamin. thank you for your kind and helpful comments. john Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 5, 2004 Report Share Posted March 5, 2004 Thank you to everybody who provided such helpful and insightful information to answer my question on my daughter's short stature. The anecdotes were great too! John Elliott Atlanta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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