Ever wondered just how tall your little one will grow? Well, a mathematical formula unearthed by the New York Times claims to be able to predict it fairly accurately.
While environmental factors such as diet and nutrition have an impact on the adult height a child will eventually achieve, a whopping 70 per cent of the factors that determine a child’s height come from mum and dad.
Devised by scientists in the 1970s, the formula is still used by some doctors when monitoring or assessing a child’s development.
Fancy giving it a go? Here’s how to estimate whether you’ll have a supermodel Susie or petite Pete:
- For boys, the formula combines the height of both parents, adds five inches (or 13 centimeters) and divides by two.
- For girls, it combines the height of the parents, subtracts five inches and divides by two. A more complex formula accounts for extremes in parental height.
According to the latest research, the average height for an Irish man born in 1980 is now 5’9” (1.76cm), while our great grandfathers were just over 5’5” on average.
In a Finnish study of 8,798 pairs of twins, genetics were found to account for 78 per cent of height in adult men and 75 per cent in women.
Are you the petite one in a family of Amazons? Join the conversation on Twitter @HerFamilydotie.
