Girls can grow taller till their age of 18, but once you have hit puberty the rate of growth usually decreases. At 15, it is usual for the female body to show a lessened growth in height but it does not mean you are going to stop growing completely right at that age. The time and span of growth spurt, varies from one person to another and the height is primarily controlled by genetics, which you cannot change.
After reaching puberty, the amount of estrogen in the body increases which facilitates the fusing of the long bones of the legs thus stalling growth in height. However, while the process is still on its way you can ensure that your body is able to get the maximum potential height supported by your genetics.
There are medications available in the market that claim to make you taller, no matter your age. Some of these medications are nothing more than a combination of vital nutrients that are required by the body for proper growth and some are hormonal medicines that might be helpful to gain a few more inches, but are sure to disrupt the natural hormonal balance of your body, and hence is not a very wise option to pick.
If you are a girl at 15 and still you have not gained sufficient height there can be two possibilities; either you carry a gene of less height from your parents, or your growth spurt is yet to reach, which is rare for girls after attaining puberty. In both the cases you can still expect to grow taller if you support your growth with proper nutrition and lifestyle. Things that can help girls at the age of 15 to grow taller include,
A nutritional and balanced diet
To sustain maximum potential growth your body needs a diet that is able to supply all the building blocks required for growth. A balanced diet that can support growth in a 15 year old girl should include proper amount of animal and plant proteins, along with vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids and dietary fibers.
Carbohydrates, which are often considered as one of the primary building blocks of the body, might have a negative impact on growing taller if taken in huge quantity. Hence keep their amount in your diet to a minimum. However, do never starve; starving can impact your growth in the worst way. Include lots of pulses and beans in your diet along with lean meat and eggs.
These are the best sources of protein and a bunch of other vital vitamins and minerals that boosts growth. Leafy vegetables like Spinach, Kale, Lettuce, Broccoli, Carrot, Capsicum and Cauliflower should make a good part of your daily diet.
Also drink more than 2 glasses of milk and eat more than 2 eggs everyday to ensure that your body gets sufficient amount of Calcium and Vitamin D.
Also spend some time daily under the sun to ensure that your body is able to synthesize its own Vitamin D. Fruits and nuts are also very nutritious; they are rich in vitamins and minerals. Eat fruits like banana, kiwi, avocado, apple, guava or oranges daily.
Also include sufficient amount of nuts in your diet. Dietary fibers ensures the best health of the digestive system supporting proper absorption of the nutrients and hence having a diet with adequate amount of fibers can be helpful for growing tall.
Also drink sufficient amount of water, because it helps in flushing out of the toxins from the body and ensures an overall better health that supports height growth.
Proper and sufficient sleep
Sleep is very important for growth. According to studies, most of the body growth occurs during sleep and hence getting adequate sleep is vital.
You should get to bed early at night and ensure to have an undisturbed sleep for at least 8 hours. Taking a 1 hour long nap during the day can also be good. Proper sleep ensures a better mental and physicalhealth; it reduces stress, which can have a direct negative impact on your growth.
Exercises and yogasanas
For a girl at 15, taking up free hand exercises and yoga as a daily hobby can be of best help to grow taller. However, keep one thing in mind during the growing phase never resort to weight training, if you are worried about your height.
Working out with weight can impact your height. Keep it light and increase the repetitions if you want to workout more. Do exercises like bridge, squats, front fold, different types of leg stretches and twists.
You can also do aerobics to ensure better growth. Rod hanging is also suggested. Yogasanas can also be very effective for growing taller at 15; do asanas like padahastasana, Bhujangasana, Gomukhasana regularly to ensure better growth in height. However, it is always suggested to do yogasanaS under the supervision of an instructor to ensure best results.
Other activities
To grow taller at this age you can take up a sport like Swimming, which is highly beneficial for growth. Swimming tones the muscles and ensures the maximum growth of the long bones of the body.
So, if you are really worried about your height, take up swimming on a daily basis. Activities like rope jumping and even running can be helpful for growing taller at 15. Taking up dancing as a hobby can also be helpful for growing taller.
Stay away from the following
If you are trying to grow taller do not take in lots of sugar, by eating lots of sweet dishes and desserts, because it can deter your growth.
Caffeine does not have any direct negative impact on your growth but it can disturb sleep and hence can have a negative effect on growing tall. Steroids are proven to affect growth negatively hence stay away from them as well.
Some precautions to ensure better growth for girls at 15
While a balanced diet and proper exercises can actually help girls to grow taller at 15, it is also important to keep some precautions in mind just to ensure that any of your actions does not stall the natural growth process. Keep the following things in mind to ensure the best growth at 15 for girls,
Do not opt for weight training when you are 15 to ensure better growth
While weight training can be an effective way to build muscles and also to reduce fat, it is not the right type of exercises for girls in their growing age.
Weight training helps in building muscles, which can hamper the growth in height. So, when you are at 15 opt for free hand exercises and other sports activities like skipping, jogging, swimming, but do not opt for weight training.
Over- straining is not helpful for growing taller at 15
While free hand exercising and different sports activities can be highly helpful to ensure better growth, over straining yourself can actually work negatively on your growth. So, whatever physical exercises you do, do not continue it for hours, which can actually strain your body extremely.
Exercise regularly and more than once or twice a day if you feel like, but never exercise continuously for more than 15 minutes or so.
Keep your weight in check to ensure better growth at 15
In case you are over-weight it can actually impact your growth in height negatively. While it does not mean that the baby fat will hamper your growth but being highly overweight can surely affect growing taller at 15. So, try to keep your weight in the perfect range to ensure the best growth at this age.
Have realistic expectations about your growth
A proper nutritional diet and proper exercises can support the growth of girls at the age of 15, but after all it is encoded in the genes and the maximum height of a girl is mostly determined by her genes when provided with a supporting diet. So, have realistic expectations.
FAQs
Usually girls height does not increase after the age of 15.However depending upon certain genetic and biological factors in some cases it may grow for a couple of years after 15 years of age.
Yes to some extent hanging does help in increasing height as it helps to stretch your joints muscles and spine.
The direct answer is no. Milk is rich in calcium, vitamins like A, B12, C, K, E etc.,due to which it helps the child to reach their desirable height.
It is said that girls grow until the age of 18. However, the growth stops at the age of 15 years in most of the cases.
Dairy products, whole grains, red meat, fish, eggs, fresh fruits and vegetables etc are good for growing height.
Calcium, vitamin B2, vitamin D, Vitamin C are some of the most important vitamins of height growth.
