# Did your size at birth predict your height as an adult? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 11, 2007, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-your-size-at-birth-predict-your-height-as-an-adult/391706 "2007-02-11T05:13:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2007, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-your-size-at-birth-predict-your-height-as-an-adult/391706/21 "2007-02-11T13:50:12Z")
A newborn’s weight is determined by several factors. Very large babies are often the result of the mother having gestational diabetes. Smoking can cause babies to to small. Adult size is determined by genetics and nutrition. There may be a correlation between a child’s shoe size at age two with adult height, but I don’t remember the formula. But since you asked, my son weighed 6 lbs 9 oz and grew to be over 6 feet tall, even though both his father and I were not especially tall. I weighed 6 lbs 8 oz at birth and am 5’4" ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2007, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-your-size-at-birth-predict-your-height-as-an-adult/391706/22 "2007-02-11T15:16:26Z")
I’m with **PercyPercy** on this one. I was the largest baby, by far, in my family - 9 pounds, 8 ounces! The roundest and chubbiest toddler of the bunch. My elder brother was under 4 pounds at birth, eventually grew to be over 6’ and very athletic. All of my siblings tower over me, I am the shortest at just under 5’ 3". Also I am the slightest, barely 100 pounds soaking wet with rocks in my pockets. Birth weight and toddler shape are very poor indicators if you ask me. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2007, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-your-size-at-birth-predict-your-height-as-an-adult/391706/23 "2007-02-11T15:25:46Z")
I was barely 5 pounds and am the tallest of two girls at 5’5". My mother was/is a smoker. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2007, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-your-size-at-birth-predict-your-height-as-an-adult/391706/24 "2007-02-11T15:26:10Z")
The parental height thing is on for one of my brothers, but he’s about three inches taller than I am. I think I was 6 lbs. 10 oz. at birth, and I’m 5’6 1/2" now. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2007, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-your-size-at-birth-predict-your-height-as-an-adult/391706/25 "2007-02-11T15:32:29Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] I was 8 lbs 11 oz, 23 inches, so a good sized, but not headline inspiring girl. I’m now 5’6". I’m 5’7" after a lot of deep tissue bodywork! By the way, “They” say the answer to the OP is no. There are half a dozen height predictors, but none of them are based on the infant’s size. The easiest and least reliable one is to take the height at age two and double it. The most reliable one is a formula involving the mother and father’s height, but I forget exactly what that formula is. The answers are only valid for full-term, healthy kids with good nutrition. Just for a lark, I put WhyBaby’s info in, and got a range of between 4’6" and 5’8"! But she’s a micropreemie, so it doesn’t work for her (the better guess is the 5’8", 'cause that’s based on her dad and I.) [This height predictor traces the percentile line.](http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/welcome/yahtpredictor.html) [This is the “double the height at two” calculator.](http://pediatrics.about.com/cs/usefultools/l/bl_htcalc.htm) [This is the one based on parental height.](http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/welcome/htcalculator.html) The last one is spot on for me. [/QUOTE] How weird. That last link is absolutely spot on for both my kids. Dad 6-3 + Mom 6-1 = Son 6-4.5 & Daughter 5-11.5 ---
**Author:** ![ErinPuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dbc845/32.png) [@ErinPuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ErinPuff)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2007, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-your-size-at-birth-predict-your-height-as-an-adult/391706/26 "2007-02-11T15:40:18Z")
I was (IIRC) 8 lbs 6 oz (the smallest of my parents’ three children–my poor mother!) and I’m now 5’1". My brother was well over 9 lbs and he’s 5’4". My mother is 5’2" and my father is 5’6". ---
**Author:** ![MissMossie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@MissMossie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissMossie)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2007, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-your-size-at-birth-predict-your-height-as-an-adult/391706/27 "2007-02-11T16:06:35Z")
I was long and skinny at ten pounds, five ounces and somewhere between twenty-three and twenty-four inches. FWIW, my mother was overweight and I was the fourth kid that she bore. I’m still long and skinny though, 5’10 1/2 and right around 150lb. It’s interesting looking at my older sisters’ birth weights. Mom was only overweight for me, but the smallest baby was sister number two coming in at just over seven pounds. We were all decent sized babies. Kind of makes me feel sad for Mom. ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2007, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-your-size-at-birth-predict-your-height-as-an-adult/391706/28 "2007-02-11T16:26:00Z")
I was 3 1/2 lbs, my sister 4 1/2, and we’re both 5’5" and “robust”. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2007, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-your-size-at-birth-predict-your-height-as-an-adult/391706/29 "2007-02-11T16:55:12Z")
The parental height calculator says that I should be 5’3"… but alas, I made it all the way to 5’6". My dad and his dad were the “short” branch of the family, though–all of their brothers and cousins are 6’ or taller. So maybe I got a little of that. ---
**Author:** ![Caprese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9a28c/32.png) [@Caprese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caprese)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2007, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-your-size-at-birth-predict-your-height-as-an-adult/391706/30 "2007-02-11T17:02:27Z")
[QUOTE=Sattua] The parental height calculator says that I should be 5’3"… but alas, I made it all the way to 5’6". . [/QUOTE] Yes, the parental height calculater said that I should have been 5’4" and I made it to just under 5’7". However, the same height calculator, given my and spouse’s measurements, did correctly predict my older son’s 5’11 1/2"(younger son isn’t done growing yet but he looks to be heading towards the same height as big bro.) ---
**Author:** ![Epimetheus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c4cdca/32.png) [@Epimetheus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Epimetheus)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2007, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-your-size-at-birth-predict-your-height-as-an-adult/391706/31 "2007-02-11T18:03:44Z")
4 lbs 13 oz at birth, 5’9" as an adult. No real relationship. (I am the tallest in my family, sadly) ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2007, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-your-size-at-birth-predict-your-height-as-an-adult/391706/32 "2007-02-11T18:14:51Z")
[QUOTE=Sattua] The parental height calculator says that I should be 5’3"… but alas, I made it all the way to 5’6". My dad and his dad were the “short” branch of the family, though–all of their brothers and cousins are 6’ or taller. So maybe I got a little of that. [/QUOTE] The caveat there is optimal nutrition. Were your parents well fed throughout their formative years? ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2007, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-your-size-at-birth-predict-your-height-as-an-adult/391706/33 "2007-02-11T19:59:44Z")
[QUOTE=astro] The caveat there is optimal nutrition. Were your parents well fed throughout their formative years? [/QUOTE] They were both well fed, and as far as I know my dad had no significant childhood diseases likely to stunt his growth–though his father had polio as an adult. My mother, on the other hand, had whooping cough and then so many colds and viruses that she almost didn’t pass a grade in school. So probably she could have been healthier and taller. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2007, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-your-size-at-birth-predict-your-height-as-an-adult/391706/34 "2007-02-11T20:00:37Z")
Bro and I were both 7-10, probably 20" or so. Bro 6’4", 230 lbs, me 5’10", 300 lbs. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-your-size-at-birth-predict-your-height-as-an-adult/391706.md?page=1)