Question

It is believed that height of a child depends upon the genes inherited from parents. However, it is often seen that tall parents may have short children and vice-versa. Are there factors other than genes that can cause these variations?

Answer 1

Height of a child depends upon the genes inherited from parents. However, there are some other factors also that can affect height. These factors include balanced diet, hormones, exercise and diseases.

Balanced diet is essential for the adolescents as it helps the bones, muscles and other parts of the body to get adequate nourishment for growth.

Similarly, lack of hormones, such as growth hormones, may lead to dwarfism.

Regular exercise is also essential for healthy muscles, bones and joints and their proper development. Lack of disease is a priority for growth that is related to other factors listed above.

Thus, height depends on a combination of various factors and the absence or deficiency of any one of them can cause variations. This is why, tall parents may have short children and vice-versa.