I’m a guy and 5’2. My mom is 5’5, my dad is 5’8, my maternal grandfather was 5’11, my uncle and paternal grandfather are 5’8, as were my mom’s uncles.
I was born 6 weeks early and 5 pounds, and when I was a baby, I was so small I didn’t even register on the height chart.
Is it because I was premature, or just genetics? I feel like I should be taller.
Random shuffle of the genes, I guess.
There is a tendency for offspring to revert to the mean… but if that were the only factor, we’d all eventually converge.
Why have I lost most of my hair? My father and his father kept a full head all their lives…
Although that one at least we can somewhat answer: male pattern baldness as a hereditary trait is influenced by genes from both father and mother (not exclusively the mother’s side as per folklore).
So the experiences of your father and his father etc. concerning hair retention are not a reliable guide to your own. As you said, it’s a roll of the genetic dice.
Go to your family doctor and ask for a referral to a specialist who knows about conditions that can cause a person to be shorter than average. If that specialist says that there’s nothing that would cause you to be shorter, it’s just random luck. Most of our lives are about random luck.
Genetics be weird.
My great grandfather was very tall, well over 6 foot (and often wore a top hat to look even taller). According to my grandfather, one of my great-aunts was almost 5 ft at age 9, so, given her father, everyone assumed she’d be really tall… then she just stopped growing at 10, and never got over 5 ft. Spent her early childhood being told she was gonna be really tall, ended up as the shortest in the family.
Not feeling any more at peace with the matter, huh?
I’m sorry. Genuinely.
I have some pretty grim realities in my life. Making peace with them wasn’t easy, but man was it life changing when I managed to get there.
I hope you get there, too.
You got a lot of support and advice not that long ago. Still just venting? You’re short because that’s the hand that nature dealt you.
Moderating:
We’re aware this is a second thread on the issue of height. However, there is a difference between the first and second threads: The first is merely complaining about the situation, and this second thread is asking for information on why it is so.
@CastletonSnob1, we will not permit any more threads on the issue of your height, so I hope this gets it out of your system.
Being born prematurely can lead to a range of long-term and lifelong health issues, especially for those who were significantly premature. Looking at various cites, it sounds to me like having been a preemie is not strongly correlated with being short as an adult, but it might contribute, especially if you were shorter than typical for your gestational age (i.e., how many weeks along you were) when you were born.
As others have noted, genetics is more complex than “I should be as tall as my parents,” and recessive genes can absolutely be a factor. Your health and nutrition as a child could also have played a factor: were you a sickly child? Did you have one or more chronic health issues? Were you a fussy eater?
At 5’ 5" I was the shortest male in my family. My Mom was shorter than me, and I have no sisters. The good news is that shorter people tend to live longer than taller people, all things being equal, so enjoy the fact that your lack of height may actually be an advantage in terms of longevity.
Google AI says: " Yes, shorter individuals often live longer than taller people. Observational studies show shorter people tend to live two to seven years longer. This difference is thought to be tied to having fewer cells (reducing DNA damage), lower caloric needs, and protective genetics like the FOXO3 gene."
Update: my mom’s uncles were 5’11-6’0.
Unless he is currently going through puberty (you’re not, are you @CastletonSnob1?), that ship has sailed.
I’m not a big fan of Kevin Hart’s comedy, but I’ve read stories about how positive his attitude is related to his shortness.
mmm
Don’t tell me “height doesn’t matter!” because height absolutely matters. Tall people are considered more attractive and make more money.
On average, perhaps. It is not a predetermining factor, unless you decide that your shortness has doomed you to being poor and lonely.
Yeah, but they’re the first ones to get wet when it starts raining.
mmm
The plant manager at the factory I worked at in Arizona might have been 5’ 4” on a good day. He was a member of the Hungarian resistance, and was considered a badass by everyone who knew him. He was smart and pugnacious, and didn’t take any shit. Nobody ever mentioned his height.
I have neighbors/colleagues where both Mr & Mrs are over 6’ tall. Their progeny are twins, a boy and a girl. It was a complicated birth and the boy copped the worst of it. Now aged 25 Sam is about 5’8" and twin sister Emma is about 6’4". When they started primary school as 5yos there was over a foot in height difference between them. If he’d have been a single they would have held him back a year for his development. But there may also have been complications if he wasn’t in the same school year as his twin sister. So they went to school together and Sam turned out OK.
No, occasionally there are times that a specialist can discover a condition in an adult that affected their height. They won’t be able to increase their height. They may discover something in a short adult that has to be found and worked on or it will decrease their lifespan.
Ah, OK, I misunderstood your post.
mmm
Heheh, yeah. My grandfather on my mother’s side died in his 90s with no bald spot. My grandfather on my dad’s side was basically bald by 30. I was in my 40s before I really started to go bald, but it’s been a steady march since then, and I’m more bald than my dad ever was. Genetics are understandable, but why you got the ones you did is due to a genetic crapshoot.
I’m 5’4", and never had any problems with the ladies. My little brother’s 6’2". While he does OK, he lacked confidence when he was young, so he didn’t have a lot of dates then. Confidence goes a long way in social interaction.