Beware of "height-increasing product" scams and understand height growth scientifically

Author: Huang Yanhong Duan Yuechu

In today's society, height seems to have become a focus of increasing concern. Whether in employment, mate selection or social interaction, height may have a certain impact. For this reason, some unscrupulous businesses have seized on people's height anxiety and launched a variety of "height-increasing products", forming an increasingly complete industrial chain on the Internet. However, are these so-called "height-increasing products" really as magical as advertised? Let's uncover their scams and scientifically understand the secrets of height growth.

Open the e-commerce platform and search for the keyword "increase height", and you will immediately see a variety of height-increasing products. Some claim to "rapidly increase height by 17 cm", while others use attractive slogans such as "bone re-growth technology". What's more, some even put on the "scientific" cloak of genetic testing and national patents in an attempt to deceive consumers. Not long ago, the Minhang police in Shanghai arrested 8 fraud gangs that used the sale of "height-increasing powder" as bait. These gangs sold yak bone powder, which cost only 50 yuan, to consumers at a high price of 3,000 to 5,000 yuan, and the funds involved were as high as 1 million yuan. However, after inspection, these so-called "height-increasing powders" contained protein and calcium, but they were far less than the food we eat every day, such as rice, soy products, milk, etc.

According to doctors, there are three main periods of height growth. The first period is infancy, from birth to three years old, which is the fastest growing period in life. Infants will experience rapid physical development during this period, and their height and weight will increase rapidly. The second period is childhood, from three years old to pre-puberty. During this period, the child's body continues to grow steadily, but the speed is slower than infancy. The third period is adolescence, during which the body grows taller and the bone maturity increases. After the epiphysis closes, height growth stops.

For girls, the epiphysis is generally close to closure when the bone age is around 14 years old, while boys reach adult height at around 16 years old. Once the epiphysis is completely closed, no matter what stimulation is used, it is impossible to achieve height growth.

Many parents have misunderstandings about the height of minors. Misunderstanding 1: Compared with the growth and development chart, the child's height is obviously lower, but they are not anxious, do not pay attention, and do not intervene in time. In fact, when boys change their voices and girls have their first menstruation, it means entering the post-pubertal development stage. At this time, the epiphysis is close to closing. If timely measures are not taken, the height will stop growing when the epiphysis is completely closed. Misunderstanding 2: The child is short in height, take the child to a non-specialized hospital for treatment, or blindly believe in some oral height-increasing products. Such "random medical treatment" is not only unhelpful to the child's growth and development, but may also cause the child's epiphysis to close prematurely due to hormone abuse and other reasons. Misunderstanding 3: Improper use of growth hormone. Parents must compare the growth and development chart and monitor the child's height regularly. If the child is obviously shorter and belongs to the category of dwarfism, he should go to a regular medical institution for treatment in time. For cases such as idiopathic short stature inherited from the family, small for gestational age infants who have not caught up, and some bone abnormalities, growth hormone can be considered, but it must be done under the guidance of a doctor.

So, how can we achieve scientific growth? For minors, we must first ensure adequate nutrition. A balanced diet is the basis for normal physical development. We should consume more foods rich in nutrients such as protein, calcium, vitamins, such as milk, eggs, fish, fresh vegetables and fruits. Secondly, we must ensure adequate sleep. Sleep is an important period for the secretion of growth hormone in the body, especially in a deep sleep state, the secretion of growth hormone will reach its peak. Therefore, minors should maintain adequate sleep time every day and develop good sleeping habits. In addition, proper exercise can also help height growth. For example, rope skipping, basketball, swimming and other sports can stimulate bone growth and promote physical development. But pay attention to the intensity and time of exercise to avoid physical damage caused by excessive exercise.

In short, we should be alert to the scams of "height-increasing products" and scientifically understand the laws of height growth. Once the epiphysis of an adult is closed, it is impossible to achieve height growth through any so-called "height-increasing products". For minors, parents should pay attention to their children's growth and development, discover problems in time and take correct measures. At the same time, we should choose regular medical institutions for consultation and treatment, and do not blindly believe in some "height-increasing products" that have no scientific basis. Only in this way can we truly achieve scientific growth and let children grow up healthily and happily.

Let us arm ourselves with scientific knowledge, stay away from the traps of "height-increasing products", and lay a solid foundation for our own and our children's future.