Why late bloomers continue growing later in life or even after puberty.

Just when you Think that your growth Is Over, you may be in for a surprise.

Most people assume that once puberty ends, so does their chance of getting taller and they are right. But that’s not always the case.

Because the human body doesn’t always follow the rulebook.

And it’s not cast in stone that growth has to end at a certain age.

In some cases, though rare, the body has a remarkable ability to catch up or to grow faster than normal after a period of slowed or delayed growth.

This phenomenon is known as catch-up growth.

(Watch video with examples of athletes that experienced dramatic growth spurts after 18 or 20 at the end of the article.)

What Exactly Is Catch-Up Growth?

Growth retardation may occur as a result of an injury such as starvation, hormonal deficiency, or poor nutrition.

Catch-up growth is your body’s natural way of making up for lost time.

Catch-up growth refers to a phase where an individual grows faster than what’s normally expected for their age, usually lasting a year or more, after their growth had previously slowed down or been temporarily held back. [1]

This rapid growth can be measured by height velocity.

Because it involves a sudden boost in growth, catch-up growth can sometimes look similar to the growth spurt that happens during puberty, which makes it tricky to differentiate the two .

Babies who were small at birth due to conditions like intrauterine growth restriction often show this kind of accelerated growth later on, even though they may not fit every technical requirement of true catch-up growth.

There’s no perfect way to know in real time if a person has fully completed their catch-up growth.

However, if they eventually reach a final height that falls within their expected genetic height range, it’s a strong sign that their catch-up process was successful [2]

What’s the Science behind Catch up Growth?

The mechanisms regulating catch-up growth are not fully understood but there are 2 main hypotheses that have been proposed to explain catch-up growth:

1.The neuroendocrine hypothesis.

This hypothesis was proposed by James M. Tanner a prominent British pediatric endocrinologist and a foundational researcher in the concept of “catch-up growth in 1963.

It suggests that a mechanism, possibly located in the hypothalamus is able to compare the size of the individual’s body with the expected
size for that age.

If a mismatch is recognized, the body is encouraged to continue growing at a faster-than-normal rate.

When the mismatch becomes less obvious, then the growth velocity will decrease.[3]

2. The growth plate hypothesis.

The growth plate hypothesis is based on an old concept proposed by Osborne and Mendel in 1914.

This hypothesis suggests that prolonged nutritional deprivation in the rat was followed by growth at an age well beyond the normal growth period of the species.

According to this hypothesis, age is not the limiting factor for growth, rather growth is limited by the intrinsic capacity for growth of the tissue itself.

After further work in this area by Williams, a study on rabbits suggested that the mechanism for catch-up growth is intrinsic to the growth plate.

They proposed that catch-up growth arises from a delay in normal growth plate closure.

Thus, according to the study, growth plate closure is not a function of time per se but rather a function of the cumulative number of divisions the stem cells have undergone.

The different forms of Catch-Up Growth.

James Tanner distinguished 3 different types of catch growth that potentially lead to the same normal adult height.

But type 3 can’t formerly be considered catch up growth so only type 1 and 2 will be discussed.

Catch-Up Growth type 1

In the first pattern, elimination of the growth restricting factor or factors is followed by an increase in height velocity up to 4 times the average velocity of growth for individuals of a given age, which fully eliminates the growth deficit.

Once the original growth curve is achieved, height velocity returns to normal.

This is considered the classic example of catch-up growth and has been reported for several children.

This form of catch up growth can be observed in children suffering from celiac disease who experience a growth restriction. [4]

Catch-Up Growth pattern 2

In the second type, once the growth restricting factor is eliminated, growth velocity only increases slightly.

The height deficit is compensated for over a long period of time.

An example of this type of catch-up growth was given in a report of 2 men with hypopituitarism.

Hypopituitarism is a condition where the pituitary gland fails to produce enough hormones and in this case, it was GH.

At the time GH treatment was started, these men were aged 22.7 and 24.3 years and their bone age was 13 to 14 years.

By ages 28 and 29 years, they had respectively gained 8 and 9 inches in height, and their growth velocity was normal for their bone age despite the fact that they were fully growth adults. [5]

Read more about bone age and how it determines adult growth potential on What Is Bone Age? How It Affects Growth and Puberty article.

MAJOR CAUSES OF GROWTH RETARDATION THAT MAY LEAD TO CATCH UP GROWTH.

1.Growth Hormone Deficiency.

A rare condition where the pituitary gland fails to release enough growth hormone.

Among children, it affects approximately 1 in 3,500 to 10,000 children worldwide and it is more common in males than in females.

In most cases, the cause of growth hormone deficiency in children can’t be identified but in other cases, G.H deficiency is caused by a damage to the pituitary gland which may be present at birth or develop later during childhood.

How to naturally increase growth hormone release during and after puberty

Some of the signs that a child may be affected with G.h deficiency include a child being shorter that other children of same age and sex and looking young for their age.

Diagnosis is mainly done through blood tests.

Treatment of G.h deficiency is by daily or weekly injection of synthetic (man made) GH under the skin by qualified medical personnel and the dosage depends on the child’s weight and growth rate.

synthetic G.h treatment can induce catch-up growth among children with g.h deficiency, but how they respond to the treatment is a function of starting age, how short they are compared to their peers, frequency of GH administration and consistency of admnistaration.[6 ]

Starting GH therapy as soon as a deficiency is diagnosed is highly recommended for the best results preferably at around 2 to 4 years or before the onset of puberty.

2 .Hypothyroidism.

A condition where the thyroid gland doesn’t secrete enough thyroid hormones for your body’s needs.

The main thyroid hormones are Triiodothyronine which regulates metabolism and Calcitonin which helps to regulate blood calcium levels by channeling it to bone tissue.

Some of the signs that a child may be suffering from hypothyroidism include persistent fatigue, weight gain, constipation, cold intolerance, dry skin and hair, and difficulty concentrating.

Growth retardation in hypothyroidism is primarily a direct effect of T3 deficiency on skeletal development, though a secondary reduction in growth hormone secretion and circulating IGF-1 levels likely also plays a role.

Once thyroid hormone replacement therapy begins, most young children enter a period of catch-up growth that can recover a meaningful portion of the lost height potential.

3 .Celiac disease

In affluent countries, celiac disease is one of the most prevalent causes of reversible growth retardation.

Celiac disease is a condition or disease where eating foods made from wheat, barley and rye like bread triggers an autoimmune mediated response which causes damage to the small intestines and leads to mal absorption of such food.

Such foods contain dietary gluten, which is a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye.

Some of the common symptoms of celiac disease include diarrhea, constipation, bloating and abdominal discomfort.[7]

Elimination of such foods from the patient’s diet is considered an effective treatment for celiac disease and the symptoms usually disappear quite rapidly.

Most patients exhibit complete catch-up growth within the first 6-12 months after initiation of the gluten-free diet.

4. Cushing Syndrome

A very rare condition caused by prolonged exposure to high levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

This could be due to either a pituitary tumor, adrenal tumor or taking medications containing glucocorticoids for a prolonged period of time.

Such medications are used to treat conditions such as asthma, arthritis or other allergic reactions.

Some of the common symptoms include fat accumulation in the abdomen, face, and between the shoulders , a very tender skin that bruises easily, and hypertension.

After treatment of this condition, both children and adolescents tend to grow rapidly to compensate for the growth that was curtailed by the high cortisol levels.

However, some children may still have have a compromised final height.

5. Malnutrition or under nutrition.

Inadequate nutrition, whether from insufficient food, poor food quality single largest cause of stunted growth in most developing countries.

However, to a lesser extent it’s also a challenge to the more developed countries especially in form of growth retardation that takes place in the uterus due to deficient maternal nutrition which results in infants being born small for gestational age .

In the more developed countries, undernutrition also occurs due to a number of chronic diseases like asthma.

studies show that stunted children continue to be stunted if they remain in the environment in which they became chronically undernourished.

However, the potential for catch-up growth increases especially if maturation was delayed and the growth period was prolonged.

International adoptions of children from developing countries offer possibilities to study undernourished children in an environment where food supply is abundant, which in turn leads to catch-up growth.

When 114 boys and girls adopted in Sweden from India were tracked and studied at arrival, over two years of adequate nutrition, continuous catch-up growth was observed with no signs of halting, confirming that growth potential had remained intact and was waiting for the right conditions.

Foods that support growth during and after puberty →

What this means for late bloomers

Catch-up growth reminds us that the human body is more adaptable than we think.

Whether it’s a child recovering from illness or a young adult improving nutrition and sleep, the body can still respond with measurable growth.

So, instead of giving up on the idea of getting taller, focus on creating the right conditions.

Because sometimes, your growth doesn’t need to be started, it just needs to be reignited.

Rectify the cause, trust the process, and never assume your growth story is over.

Ready to Create the Right Conditions?

I shared how I ignited a late growth spurt in my mid 20s in the Exercise Routine Handbook.

If any of this resonates with your situation, there may be an idea or two from my personal experience worth picking up.

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