Is there a link between guys growing body hairy early and stopping growing in height early do you think?

Question

I found this recent post from rar4000 on yahoo questions : “I'm 24 and 5'4". I stopped growing at age 15. It sucks, but you might have some more growing to do. Look at how much bodily hair you have. In my experience, guys who develop bodily hair at an early age, like me, stop growing early and end up short. Conversely, those who don't develop any bodily hair grow until their late teens and end up tall.”

I too started growing body hair early at about 14/15, just at the same time I stopped growing in height and I always wondered whether there might be a link between the two – so I would tend to agree with rar4000 and I wonder if any other guys have noticed this … or not – if rar4000 (or anyone else) wants to contact me, feel free!

Answer 1

There's a bit of correlation between very rapid or early growth spurts and a cessation of growth at an early age.  The reason for this is that the same hormones that encourage fast growth also encourage fusion of the epiphyses, the part of the long bones that grows as a person gets taller.  Once they fuse, no further increase in height is possible.

As a result, some boys grow very tall at a very young age but then stop entirely.  Sometimes they stop at normal adult height, sometimes they stop taller than average ... and sometimes they end up shorter than average.  Genes have a lot to do with it.

Gender has something to do with it, too.  Girls grow very fast at a very early age, until they get their period, then they slow down and stop in their mid-teens or so.  Boys start later, grow more slowly, but grow for a longer time.  That's why 12-year-old girls are taller than 12-year-old boys, but boys are taller than girls by age 18.