It is believed that 70-95% of a person's height is determined by his heredity, and above all - the growth of his parents. Therefore, to calculate final growth of the child specialists use formulas that take into account only data on the growth of his father and mother. There are quite a lot of such formulas to date. We present five of them and try to test their performance on the example of well-known families.
The authorship of one of the most popular this moment formulas are attributed to a certain Dr. J. Hawker from the Mayo Clinic. He proposes to calculate the final height of the child by adding the height of the father and the height of the mother and dividing the resulting amount by two. Add 6.4 cm to the result if the boy's height is calculated, or subtract 6.4 cm if the girl's height is calculated.
Boy's PR \u003d (RO + PM): 2 + 6.4;
PR girls \u003d (RO + RM): 2-6.4,
Where RO is the father's height in centimeters, RM is the mother's height in centimeters, and PR is the estimated height.
The second well-known formula, based on experimental data, was developed by a researcher from Czechoslovakia (when such a country still existed) V. Karkus. To calculate the growth of boys, you need to multiply the mother's height by 1.08, add the father's height to this result and divide the resulting amount by 2. To calculate the girl's height, you need to multiply the father's height by 0.923, add the mother's height to the result and divide the amount by 2.
Boy's PR \u003d (RO + PM * 1.08): 2;
PR girls \u003d (RO * 0.923 + PM): 2.
The authorship of the third formula is unknown, which does not detract from the prevalence of its use. To calculate the final height of the boy, the height of the father and the height of the mother are added, the resulting amount is multiplied by 0.54, and 4.5 cm are subtracted from the result of the multiplication. To calculate the height of the girl, the sum of the height indicators of the father and mother is multiplied by 0.51, and then from the result subtracted 7.5 cm.
Boy's PR \u003d (RO + PM) * 0.54 -4.5;
PR girls \u003d (RO + RM) * 0.51 - 7.5.
The authors of the article “Short stature in childhood"Professor Vladimir Smirnov and endocrinologist Gleb Gorbunov give a formula that is very similar to Dr. Hawker's calculation method (the first formula), but assumes an accuracy of calculations plus or minus 8 cm:
Boy's PR \u003d (RO + PM + 12.5): 2 ± 8;
PR girls \u003d (RO + RM-12.5): 2 ± 8.
Basically, it can be rewritten like this:
PR boy \u003d (RO + PM): 2 + 6.25 ± 8;
PR girls \u003d (RO + RM): 2-6.25 ± 8.
This formula predicts not so much the final height as the maximum and minimum possible height of the child with the current growth of his parents.
You can also give a formula obtained on the basis of the results of a survey by Moscow students of 30 families. Its source is the article "How Much Will Your Child Grow" published in the sixth issue of the journal Science and Life in 1998. The author of the article, B. Gorobets, promises that the accuracy of the calculations is plus or minus 4-5 cm.
Boy's PR \u003d (RO + PM) * 0.57 - 14.5;
PR girls \u003d (RO + RM) * 0.505 - 5.
But what happens in practice?
Let's analyze the data on the growth of members of four famous families (we will take the data from open sources) and see which of the formulas is more efficient.
1. It is known that the height of Prince Charles is 180 cm, his first wife Princess Diana is 178 cm. If they decided to start calculating the final height of their sons when they were still small, they would get the following results:
Formula #1: 185.4 cm;
. Formula #2: 186.12 cm;
. Formula #3: 188.82 cm;
. Formula No. 4: 185.25 plus or minus 8 cm;
. Formula #5: 189.56 cm.
Now the height of their son William is 191 cm, and Prince Harry is 189 cm.
2. Bruce Willis (183 cm) and Demi Moore (165 cm) have three daughters. Since two of them have not yet reached the age of cessation of growth, it is possible to check the "workability" of the formulas only with the help of data on the growth of the oldest - Rumer. According to the calculations, it should have been like this:
Formula #1: 167.6 cm;
. Formula #2: 166.95 cm;
. Formula #3: 169.98 cm;
. Formula No. 4: 167.75 plus or minus 8 cm;
. Formula #5: 170.74 cm.
In fact, Rumer Willis is 168 cm tall.
3. The son of actors Donald Sutherland (193 cm) and Shirley Douglas (159 cm) Kiefer Sutherland had to grow up quite tall:
Formula #1: 182.2 cm;
. Formula #2: 182.36 cm;
. Formula #3: 185.58 cm;
. Formula No. 4: 182.25 plus or minus 8 cm;
. Formula #5: 186.14 cm.
But the growth of an adult actor turned out to be very average - 175 cm, which is 7 cm less than the smallest result.
4. In the infamous Osbourne musical family, both parents and two younger children, Kelly and Jack, are famous. According to calculations, the daughter of Ozzy (178 cm) and Sharon (157 cm) Osbourne should have been this tall:
Formula #1: 161.1cm;
. Formula #2: 160.65 cm;
. Formula #3: 163.35 cm;
. Formula number 4: 161.25 plus or minus 8 cm;
. Formula #5: 164.18 cm.
The height of an adult Kelly is 160 cm.
The calculations for their son Jack are:
. Formula #1: 173.9cm;
. Formula #2: 173.78 cm;
. Formula #3: 176.4 cm;
. Formula No. 4: 173.75 plus or minus 8 cm;
. Formula #5: 176.45 cm.
Jack's height is 177 cm.
Despite the fact that in different cases different formulas became more “workable”, all the results turned out to be approximately the same and all turned out to be close to the truth. This means that all formulas can be successfully used to calculate the final growth of the child. The only exception (the example of actor Kiefer Sutherland) confirms the rule rather than refutes it. It is worth noting that all real data "fit" into the framework outlined by formula 4.
What to do with the calculations that you made for your child?
If the result does not suit you, do not be upset. Until the growth zones are closed, the situation can be corrected. Help increase growth physical exercise stimulating metabolism and bone tissue growth (swimming, jumping, hanging), proper nutrition, positive mental attitude and, in extreme cases, hormonal therapy.
On the other hand, it is worth taking into account the following information: the figures obtained indicate the final growth of the child with optimal conditions its development. Chronic diseases, deficiency or, conversely, excess nutrition, lack of certain substances in the body (for example, iodine), poor emotional state of the child, lack of sleep and inadequate exercise stress(low physical activity or, for example, weightlifting) can lead to the fact that the height of the child will be less than "programmed" by 5-15 centimeters.
Young parents, of course, want to know how tall their child will be as an adult. In the anthropometric office, they usually ask: what is the height of the father (P), mother (M), how tall were they at birth and how old are they now. This data is immediately processed by a computer and gives a forecast: when the children grow up, the most likely growth of the daughter (D) or son (S) will be such and such. You can estimate the expected growth yourself with the help of a calculator, without resorting to doctors.
The main factor influencing the growth of children is the genetically determined growth of their parents. Statistical studies show that the growth of a child depends on him by about half. And the remaining fifty percent is much more difficult or completely impossible to take into account. These are lifestyles controlled with difficulty or completely uncontrolled, useful and bad habits, quality of nutrition, environmental conditions, mutagenic changes.
Nevertheless, mathematical statistics can offer a simple linear relationship for an approximate estimate of the height of children, based only on the height of the father and mother, and also indicate the accuracy of such an estimate. A survey of three dozen families made it possible to build a statistical dependence - a "cloud of points" inside an ellipse stretched upwards to the right: indeed, the greater the growth of parents, the greater the growth of their children. But using the "point cloud" is inconvenient. Mathematicians are looking for such a straight line or a curve passing through it, so that, having given a value on the abscissa axis, they can obtain the corresponding value on the ordinate axis with the smallest possible error. This is usually achieved using the so-called least squares method, looking for a linear function y \u003d Kx + b, where K is the slope of the straight line (the tangent of its angle with the abscissa axis), b is the segment cut off on the y-axis.
The optimal value of K is especially easy to calculate if, by the nature of the problem, the line passes through the origin. In our problem, of course, it will not go like this (growth cannot be equal to zero) and the formulas for calculating K and b turn out to be more cumbersome, although not beyond the scope of school algebra.
Their conclusion can be found in the book: Ya. B. Zeldovich, A. D. Myshkis. "Elements of Applied Mathematics". Moscow: Nauka, 1965 and later editions.
In our problem, x = P + M, y = D or y = S. By interviewing Muscovites, several dozen height values of parents (P and M) and children (D and S) were obtained. Calculations gave for the daughter K = 0.505, b = 5 cm; for the son K = 0.57, b = 14.5 cm.
As a result, to calculate the expected height of the daughter, the formula was obtained: D \u003d 0.505 (P + + M) - 5 cm. For example, the father’s height is 180 cm, the mother’s height is 161 cm, in total 341 cm. Multiplying the last value by 0.505 and subtracting 5 cm, we get the expected height of an adult daughter of 167.2 cm. In the formula for estimating the growth of an adult son, instead of 0.505, you need to take 0.57, and subtract 14.5 cm instead of 5 cm: C \u003d 0.57 (P + M) - 14, 5. For example, for the same parents, the height of an adult son will most likely be 179.9 cm.
In probability theory, both calculated (children's height) and initial values (parents' height) are called random variables. Here we found only the most probable height of an adult son and daughter. Deviations, of course, are possible, they are easy to observe in brothers or sisters in full accordance with the law of normal distribution of random variables - the most common in nature. On the graph, this law has the form of a bell-shaped curve: in the center is the most probable value of a random variable, on both sides there are deviations, the probability of which quickly tends to zero as they increase (it is also called the Gaussian curve after the great German mathematician Karl Gauss, who developed an analytical form normal distribution law - see "Science and Life" No. 2, 1995). Mathematical statistics can also estimate the most probable deviations from the predicted value, as it is often said: the value is plus or minus so much. To do this, you first need to set the confidence level of the estimate - usually 90, 95 or 99%. In the case under consideration of a fairly strong spread of random variables, it is reasonable to set a confidence level of 90%. Quite complex calculations make it possible to obtain the so-called hyperbolic confidence zones of the regression (they are shaded in the figure), but simply the values of probable deviations from the straight line.
The final answer should sound something like this: if the father is 180 cm and the mother is 161 cm, then the most likely height of their adult daughter will be 167.5 cm, and the deviation from this value will not go beyond plus or minus 4 cm with a probability of 90%.
The volume of the statistical sample collected by the students is small - only thirty points. Therefore, the accuracy of the calculations is also not so hot - plus or minus 4-5 cm. In serious scientific work, data processing for people is carried out on representative samples (this term is now often used when publishing public opinion poll data and means that they can be generalized to a very large population group) of about a thousand people. At the same time, it seems to us that the accuracy of solving this problem will not increase much even for large samples; apparently, it will not be higher than plus or minus 3-4 cm due to physiological, genetic and environmental factors that affect human development. We wanted, firstly, to give a simple opportunity to anyone who wants to satisfy his so natural personal interest. And, secondly, to offer students studying probability theory and mathematical statistics (which are now taking place in widest range specialties), and their teachers an interesting and close to all topic for solving a statistical problem. It is possible that they will get more representative samples and find more accurate and reliable formulas for predicting the growth of our children.
Doctor of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences B. Gorobets
"Science and Life", No. 6, 1998
However, the issue remains controversial. In general, the final height of each person depends on the following factors: the growth of the parents and the speed of their development, which includes whether family members developed early or late in growth; age of reaching puberty; chronic diseases and nutrition.
What to expect and what will be your growth? Here are examples of the most frequently asked questions.
Can you calculate your future growth?
The best way to look into the future is to review your growth chart with your pediatrician. As a rule, a personal doctor constantly monitors the growth of a small patient, entering data on height and age in his chart. Therefore, he has a clear idea of \u200b\u200bwhat is typical for the health of a child. Healthy children tend to grow proportionally, which is largely determined by genes.
Another way to determine future height is mathematically, but it will require data on the height of the parents. So, according to the formula below, you can predict growth with an accuracy of plus or minus 5 cm.
For girls it is:
[(father's height - 13 cm) + mother's height] / 2
For boys:
[(mother's height + 13 cm) + father's height] / 2
If my parents are too tall or too short, will I be the same?
Maybe. Parental genes play a critical role in the pattern of development and eventual growth of an adolescent. But this is not the only factor. Then what is the cause of the beginning of growth or its termination? How much can I grow and what are the differences in growth processes between boys and girls?
The rapid growth spurt usually lasts about two years and starts at different times for boys and girls. For girls, the age of 9-10 years is typical, boys begin to grow at the age of 11-13 years.
During this period, boys add about 10 cm in height annually, girls - about 7.5 cm. This explains the reason that the average height of a man is 13 - 15 cm higher than the average height of a woman. The growth process stops at the end of puberty.
Are there ways to increase height, such as posture exercises, food, or supplements?
The best way to grow as tall as possible is to stay healthy, eat right, exercise regularly, and sleep well. And despite the fact that food is an important factor growth, many of the teenagers do not need specialized supplements.
Be wary of foods that claim to stimulate growth. These include pills labeled "growth hormones" or, in other words, stimulants that are sold in stores. healthy eating. A person should not take growth hormones in the form of pills. These products are not as tested as you might think, so you should be careful with them.
In fact, growth hormones are prescribed by a doctor in small doses and strictly according to the causes of short stature. But the daily use of such hormones is strongly discouraged, as it can cause diabetes or an increase in the amount of fluid in the brain.
I am taller or shorter than my classmates, and that makes me embarrassed. What should I do?
This question worries many teenagers, whose growth is far from the average, but there is nothing wrong with that. It is recommended to start working on improving your own self-esteem, the best way what is the concentration on their merits.
Stop and think about what you are good at and what kind of activity gives you pleasure? If sports or dance, art or science come easily to you, focus on them. You will have confidence. Remember, the importance of physical attributes will change over time.
If you are small in stature, shoes will help you - no matter what gender you are. Another way is to make a high hairstyle. But know that the reason for your small stature may also be that the pace of your development is somewhat slower, and an x-ray test of bone age can show whether your period of growth will last longer than your friends.
Should I be concerned that I am much shorter than or taller than my family members?
In this case, it is better to consult a doctor. He will decide whether you need a referral to an endocrinologist. In addition, an annual increase in height of less than 5 cm is also considered abnormal. For all these questions, you should consult your doctor.
The child height and weight calculator from birth to 12 years of age will help determine the height and weight range of the child according to his age.
The calculator has additional function- forecast of the height and weight of the child. Based on the parameters entered, you can assume height and weight for future years, but for this you need to fill in the appropriate fields with the child's data for today.
Please note that the result of the answer is given in two versions:
- according to centile tables;
- according to the weight of the child to his height.
Example: boy 8 years old - height 141 cm and weight 30 kg.
According to centile tables, the ratio of weight and height to age:
- Child height: high (normal - 122-131 cm)
- Child weight: overweight (normal 23-28 kg)
Child's weight according to his height:
- short ( normal weight with this growth - 33-35 kg)
The child weighs above average, and his height is even higher (tall child), i.e. weight does not catch up with height parameters. Therefore, according to the centile tables, the weight will be excessive for the norm, but insufficient for growth.
Calculate the weight and height of the child
You can also calculate the weight and height of a child according to his age by comparing the indicators according to the centile tables (tables 1 and 2), as well as comparing the ratio of the height and weight of the child (table 3). Keep in mind that all children are different, so your child's growth and weight gain may differ from those shown in the chart.
Boys height and weight table
Girls height and weight table
Table of the ratio of the height and weight of the child
Height and weight of a child up to a year
To calculate the height and weight of a baby up to a year old, there is a table that will show how much a newborn should gain in weight.
Table of increase in height and weight of newborns
For a quick calculation of the ratio of height and weight, as well as a forecast of indicators, use our calculator for the height and weight of a child from birth to 12 years.
Many parents, while still holding their baby in their arms, begin to think about what his life will be like, what he will become when he grows up. If it is unrealistic to predict the nature of the crumbs and his fate in advance, then it is quite possible to try to calculate his growth. Yes, and the kids, starting to grow up, are wondering how to find out their height in the future? Let's try to figure this out.
Everything is predetermined...
First you need to understand that every baby, sleeping peacefully in the crib, or even not yet born, already stores the information that her parents are so interested in. It is from them that each child receives a certain limit of growth and will develop according to the plan that nature has outlined.
How to find out your height in the future or the growth of your baby? Scientists have found that the growth of each person depends on several factors: genetics, nutrition, hormonal levels, lifestyle and even the geographical environment.
The most revealing in this regard is the factor of heredity. Growth depends on it by ninety percent. Therefore, to the frequently asked question, how to find out the future height of a teenager or a small child, formulas will help to find the answer. It should be clarified that the result that is obtained during the calculation should be considered approximate with a difference of five centimeters in one direction or another.
For girls, the formula will be: (daddy's height times 0.923 add mom's height) divided by two.
For boys: (add mother's height multiplied by 1.08 to father's height) divide by two.
"Folk" method number 1
How to find out your growth in the future without resorting to complex calculations? You can use a formula whose author has been lost for centuries (in fact, that's why this method has such a name). Based on the fact that this formula is not without popularity, we can conclude that it works.
To calculate the final height of a girl, you need to add up her parents, multiply the result by 0.51, and then subtract seven and a half centimeters from what happened.
To calculate the final height of the boy, you need to add the height of the mother to the height of the father (take the height in centimeters, for example, 170), multiply the amount that turned out by 0.54, and subtract four and a half from the resulting number.
"Folk" method number 2
How to find out your height in the future according to another "folk" formula, taking into account the growth that the child has reached in one year.
The estimated height of the girl (in centimeters) is equal to her height at one year plus one hundred centimeters and minus five.
The estimated height of the boy (also in centimeters) is equal to his height in a year plus 100 centimeters.
Professional Formula
How to find out what growth the child will have in the future worries many parents. You can use the experience of Professor Smirnov and endocrinologist Gorbunov. The accuracy in the calculations here is plus or minus 8 centimeters.
The estimated height of the girl (in centimeters) will be equal to (mother's height plus father's height for twelve and a half minutes): 2 ± 8.
The estimated height of the boy (in centimeters) will be (mother's height plus father's height plus twelve and a half): 2 ± 8.
It should be noted that such a simple formula is intended not so much to understand how to find out your height in the future (or the height of your baby), but to suggest the minimum and maximum height of the child, given the current growth of his parents.
When calculating the height of a child, it should be borne in mind that the above formulas assume the “ideal” height of the child, which he can achieve if there is a favorable combination of all necessary circumstances. If the baby has a lack or excess of vital vitamins or substances, there are chronic diseases, then his development will take place at a slightly different pace. And these formulas may not help to find the answer to the question posed.
