Category Archives: Individuals

I Am A Horrible Writer

I admit it, I am a horrible writer. If you have ever read more than a few of the posts on this site, you would be met with many misspellings and grammatical errors. I wanted to apologize right now for my own inability to write well. However I have always felt that the content and message of the writing is far more important than the small stuff. If you can stick through to the end, I usually try to bring it all, all the content, back around and make a final conclusion on what the overall message of the post was. That can save you maybe the minutes of mental struggle you might go through to make sense of my writings sometimes.

I know I am a horrible writer. Sometimes my stream of thinking is not smooth and you might be perplexed in trying to understand what I am saying.

I used to have a RSS feed to the blog/website so that everytime a new post was published, you would get an alert to the update and you can read it. However, I realize that my writing style is very different from most other bloggers and writers out in the internet space. I publish my articles and posts as fast as possible. Often I only have only the title of the post up and have nothing put inside. The posts are then continuously added upon, edited, and finally finished late on with a product which I feel is good enough to read and get some form of value from. That is usually when I feel that the post is 90% finished. I don’t strive for 100 % perfection this type of stuff. This project of mine is something I plan to write and work on for the next 10 years, if I manage to find the time There might even be articles and posts I edit say 5 years later because I reread my stuff years later and hated my old writing style and felt the internal need to edit and polish the old material to be more readable.

There are still many posts that I have in the backend and old posts that are already published which I never even finished the ending for. My train of thought was interrupted by another idea that I had thought up or I realized that I had to implement at that time.

I am just so passionate about this subject and have so much knowledge and content that I wanted to share with you as the reader. I am hoping to give you as much value as possible. I know that right now I write about 3-4 posts a day and that will of course one day change to a less frequency. Right now, I am enjoying myself in expressing my own opinions and ideas on the subject of height increase, and anything related to it.

The Genetics Of Height

If we really wanted to get the ability to change our height and grow taller without going through the painful options of limb lengthening surgery, HGH daily injections, or crazy hours spent exercises, our only option may be some form of manipulation of our genetics. I am sure I have not considered all the options out there yet but eventually I believe I will be able to get through all the stuff.

I honestly believe that one man can accomplish this large task of taking all of the research and pathways of this very small niche of human endeavor and place it all in one place, one resource which you all can go to to learn about everything that is new that is being developed.

This is why I have decided also to devote a large portion of this website/ blog to discussing and analyzing genetics and possible genetic strategies to our goal of height increase. If any of you have ever studied genetics, whether in high school, college, or graduate school, I am sure a lot of the stuff is just review to you but please put up with me just for a short while until I get to the real stuff.

So let’s begin….

There is 23 chromosomes pairs in each of the nucleaus inside the cells of us humans. In each chromosome there are millions (or even billions) of nucleotidic base pairs that go together in 3 base pair codon groups that goes on (and collect together) to form our actual genes. The only job that these genes do is to make proteins. Referring to having a gene for a trait is no longer the scientifically accepted usage. In most cases, all people would have a gene for the trait in question, but certain people will have a specific allele of that gene, which results in the trait variant. Further, genes code for proteins, which might result in identifiable traits, but it is the gene, not the trait, which is inherited. (Reference Link)

From the scientific research done at Washington University at St. Louis it has already been shown that in terms of the social-anthropological concept of “race”, there is almost no difference between the so called labels which we have been putting on different looking people. We can organized and classified into groups like Hispanic, Latino, Black , African American, Native American, Middle Eastern, Asian, etc….

Well from the link HERE the conclusive results say that even though we have all of these phenotypical differences, we are essentially “exactly” the same and that the concept of “race” does not exist becasue the the geneticists who tried to find any specific gene that determines a “race” was never found. So the idea of race can not exist.

Well, one might then quick to ask “How does all this talk about race have anything to do with height?” Well, Race and height only has a weak correlation. When people make the comment like “asian people are short” or that “black people are big”, they are trying to link the anthropologically created concept of “race” and place a correlation of it with a phenotypical aspect of the group that they see.

Many people would be quick to then throw out a derision at such a politically incorrect statement however if we do look at the stats of say a chart of the average height of different nations around the world, we can sort of make a weak correlation. There is usually some small truth in the off of the cuff, unscientific statements made from just simple observation in our everyday life experience. Stereotypes exist for a reason. They are usually in the majority of the cases (like 51% of the time) true.

From the Wikipedia article on Race and Genetics found HERE,

“”A study by Tang et al. in 2005 used 326 genetic markers in order to determine genetic clusters. The 3,636 subjects involved in the study, from the United States and Taiwan, self-identified as belonging to white, African American, East Asian, or Hispanic (=self-identified race/ethnic group (SIRE)). The study found “nearly perfect correspondence between genetic cluster and SIRE for major ethnic groups living in the United States, with a discrepancy rate of only 0.14%.”[13] “”

I realize that it is only 1 study but let’s see that the implications are. The study implies that for all of our outer differences like skin color, nose shape, hair color, or other features that determine our “race”, we are still 99.9% exactly similar in our genome structure. (Note: I am not sure whether the 99.9 % similarity refers to the number of nuceotide base pairs in the genome or the number of number of genes, becasue the two numbers have a difference of  up to 5-6 magnitudes!) However, if we remember that our genome has over thousands of genes which are made of millions and billions of nucleotide base pairs, we realize that still means that there are a few genes out there will does determine our outer appearances.

The Human Genome Project which was completed in 2003 and the entire human genome was “supposedly” completed sequenced. That means that the basic infrastruture of the average human dna is understood. A good analogy is to think of each humans as each individual brand of car. The sequencing in a way allowed us to figure out in general, where each part of the car is supposed to be, and where to look if the car starts to have a problem. So the project allowed us to get a very good general idea on how the basic human genome and DNA structure is supposed to be laid out. However, in each individual, the genes will be slightly different, but only in say 0.1% of all the genes.

From the Human Genome Project website, I quote this passage

“”October 2004 findings from The International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium, led in the United States by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) and the Department of Energy (DOE), reduce the estimated number of human protein-coding genes from 35,000 to only 20,000-25,000, a surprisingly low number for our species (7). Consortium researchers have confirmed the existence of 19,599 protein-coding genes in the human genome and identified another 2,188 DNA segments that are predicted to be protein-coding genes.

In 2003, estimates from gene-prediction programs suggested there might be 24,500 or fewer protein-coding genes (1). The Ensembl genome-annotation system estimates them at 23,299.

When analysis of the draft human genome sequence was published by the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium on February 15, 2001, the paper estimated only about 30,000 to 40,000 protein-coding genes, much lower than previous estimates of about 100,000. This lower estimate came as a shock to many scientists because counting genes was viewed as a way of quantifying genetic complexity.

Studies since the publication of the draft genome sequence have generated widely different estimates. An analysis by scientists at Ohio State University suggested between 65,000 and 75,000 human genes (3), and another study published in Cell in August 2001 predicted a total of 42,000 (4).

Although the exact number of human genes is still uncertain, a winner of GeneSweep was announced in May 2003. GeneSweep was an informal gene-count betting pool that began at the 2000 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Genome Meeting. Bets ranged from around 26,000 to more than 150,000 genes. Since most gene-prediction programs were estimating the number of protein-coding genes at fewer than 30,000, GeneSweep officials decided to declare the contestant with the lowest bet (25,947 by Lee Rowen of the Institute of Systems Biology in Seattle) the winner (1). “”

So far the geneticists have found only 1 gene that has been shown to have some correlation to the height of the individual. However, the guess is that there is probably up to 20 specific genes that actually determine our height. What the research at the current time point at is that the height genes seem to be on the X chromosomes at numbers 7, 8, and 20 (remember that we have 23 chromosome pairs in each nucleus of our cells except red blood cells). In 2007, scientists did discover the 1st gene that showed to have an influence on one’s height after testing it through genetic manipulation on lab mice. That is the HMGA2 gene. Apparently, getting two of the “tall” type of the HMGA2 gene let’s one get an extra 1 cm in height compared to not having the gene. (Reference Link)

In conclusion, remember the study and search in genetics for the genes that determine height is still ongoing. I decided to post a last link that sums up very eloquently the effect that our genes have on our height, but also how it is connected to other factors.

“” Actually, height is what is called multifactorial. Not only are there many genes involved, such as genes for growth hormone, genes for the receptors on the outside of cells for growth hormone, genes for bone proportion, genes for the timing of the release of hormone and other growth factors; but there are also many interactions with the environment, including nutrition during gestation (while the mother was pregnant) and during the growth years, exposure to things such as cigarette smoke and alcohol before birth, birth order (generally second children are taller than first) and general health during the growth years. With all of these factors, it appears that we are born with a genetic potential for height (not all of the genes have been identified yet) and then the environment exerts its effects as we are growing. (reference link) “”

To get more information about the Human Genome Project, click HERE and HERE.

Sean Stephenson – 3 Foot Giant In A Wheelchair

I remember seeing Sean speak for the first time from a Seminar program I was watching and I was astounded at the level of authenticity and pure love that was radiating from him. I don’t remember ever seeing anyone be so charasmatic but also be so physically stunted (I know I am not being completely politically correct here). All I can say is that Sean is amazing, and one of the best speakers I have ever heard. He goes into detail to describe his own life and the crazy challenges he has to suffer through compared to some of us.

By his own admission, Sean is only 3 feet tall and in a wheelchair. When he shows you his chest or his arms ,they are also slightly deformed. He suffers from a rare form of medical condition called Osteogenesis Imperfecta.

My point is, I don’t think any of you who are reading this blog is anything near as short as Sean in the video. For the person who is 5′ 6″, there is another person just like them that have to be only 5′ 0″ and have to live with that. Of course for the 5 foot tall person, they have to realize that people who are 4 ‘6 ” do also exist in the world and they have to live in their body.  Sean here may be the most extreme case of physical handicaps one can ever meet, at least from first glance. However, Sean has been able to search deep inside of himself, find the courage to move forward and push on, and somehow also just give more value and happiness to the world than most of us who are average size.

Just realize that no matter how short or bad you think you have it, there is someone else out there who has it worst in terms of physical attributes but they have learned how to deal with it and live life as the best as they could, without complaining or believing that the world wronged them in some way.

Note: What I posted is only the first part of a 6 parts series on Youtube which appears to be a documentary on Sean’s life. If you want to see the 2nd to 5th parts of of the entire documentary, just follow the links which appear after the video is over. Enjoy.

Robert Wadlow, How Did He Grow So Tall?

When one has any form of interest over the subject of height, a natural question that appears is “Who was the tallest person to ever live, in all of human history?”

When that question is posed, one can only speak from the known medical records which are available. We could go into the Bible and talk about the 9 feet tall Goliath, the Mummified Bodies of Red Haired Giant Indians (Reference Link 1, Reference Link 2), Gigantopithecus (Reference Link 1, Reference Link 2), Bigfoots and Yetis, or even other human giant legends but we won’t because none of these stories, legensds, or myths can be substantiated. So who is the tallest person who has irrefutable proof?

The name Robert Wadlow appears again and again as the title holder, one which has held for almost a century now.

Robert Wadlow lived from 1918 to 1940 and was measured at an amazing 8′ 11.1″ for his maximum height, which was done only a few weeks before his untimely death.

Compared to his contemporaries he still stood far taller than most other giants in his era. Many tall individuals in other countries would come and meet Wadlow to see him for themselves whether he was as tall as he claim and was often left shocked and amazed that he was honest in his stature.

Taken from the Wikipedia article on him and his life found HERE, we quote this passage about his abnormal growth cycle.

“” His great size and his continued growth in adulthood was due to hypertrophy of his pituitary gland, which results in an abnormally high level of human growth hormone. He showed no indication of an end to his growth even at the time of his death. “”

What is surprising about Wadlow’s case was that he had shown no sign stopping in growing when he died. Unlike most other giants who have suffered from Gigantism (and then Acrogemaly) , his growth seemed to not diminish with age however that could only be because he only lived to be 22. If he had lived to his 40s, which would have been a clear possibility, his growth might have slowed or stopped by then, but he might have reached 10 feet in height by then.

Wadlow’s case is very unique even for giants because it appears that he did not suffer from the normal causes of Gigantism, which is from some form of tumor, benign or malignant, pushing against the pituitary gland thus effectively causing the gland to squeeze out more height growth hormone. His condition reveals that his actualy pituitary gland was what had a condition, due to hypertrophy. Taken from the Wikipedia article on hypertrophy, it is defined as the increase in the volume of an organ or tissue due to the enlargement of its component cells. Thus, there was no foreign object pushing on the gland, but the gland itself which was abnormally large. This would suggest that the gland produced many different forms of hormones in excess, not just HGH and probably would never have decrease in size. As long the pituitary gland keeps secreting the right hormones in excess, the body would still respond by being activated to carry out its functions.

I remember reading an article saying that Wadlow’s hypertrophic pituitary gland prevented even puberty from being activated. Since puberty could not be activated, that means that the long bones would never get the signals to start closing the growth plates and seal the epiphyseal plates.

Overall, we gain two hints on why Wadlow’s case is so unique and why he might have never stopped growing. The first one is because that it was his pituitary gland that was enlarged, not a foreign tumor that was pressing on his gland. The second one is that apparently Wadlow’s pituitary gland was producing so much HGH that the normal process of puberty was completely stopped or delayed. My concluding thoughts are to ask how did the puberty process completely stopped with his endocrine system and whether his condition can ever be reproduced.

How Many 8 Feet Tall People Are In The World?

I remember being on a NBA basketball forum and someone posted a thread topic that went along the lines of “How many 7 feet tall people are in the world?”

I gave some reply after doing some quickly calculations. I used to live in the Seattle area and would see maybe one 7 feet tall person every 3 months. Now, that is a lot. Assuming that there was maybe 20 7 feet tall people and the total population of Washington was reported in the most recent US census beureau was about 7,000,000. then for every 350,000 people there is one 7 feet tall person which seems to be a reasonable guesstimate.

since there is about 7,000,000,000 people in the world, then we can just then multiple the 20 by 1000 giving us a total number of 7 feet tall people to be about 20,000 in the world.

However, height is a factor which is well modeled by a normalized distribution function with rather long tails on each end because of medical conditions and genetic abnormalities.

If we then wonder how many people then there are 8 feet tall or greater, we find that there is only 3 people currently that has been proven and measured. One of them is Sultan Kosen, which is the curent tallest person in the world.

1.Sultan Kosen (Turkey) – 8′ 3″

2. Brahim Takioullah (Morocco)- 8′ 1″

3. Morteza Mehrzad (Iran)- 8′ 0″ – 8′ 1″

Note: I wanted to thank the site thetallestman.com for providing me with much of the information I have used on this post. You can find their website HERE.

Oddly enough, it was only 3 years ago that an 8 feet person was even substainted in height. Before that, not one 8 foot tall person was alive for almost 40 years, at least claimed by the Guinness Book of Records.

Before that, the title of the tallest person in the world went to a Mongolian herdsman Bao Xi Shun, who was 7′ 9″. However, it was clear that he was not the tallest person in the world, or even in the billion population nation of China. The title probably would (and should) have gone to his fellow Chinese Zhang Jun- Cai , who had attended a Japanese show with Xi Shun many years ago and had both their heights measured with Jun-Cai’s height measured at least 2.25 inches (6 cm) bigger.

Some people have discussed and argued that under certain conditions and adjusting for spinal curvature, Zhang Jun-Cai should also be added to the 8 feet tall list. That would put the total number of people at an amazing 4

 

 

Torso Length To Leg Length , A Personal Theory

As I was watching and listening to the Summer Olympics in 2008 where the phenom Michael Phelps won 8 gold medals for 8 events at Beijing, many people began to question why he was so good at the sport of swimming. 4 main reasons cited by the scientists and commentaries were

1. His long arms or wingspan, which was 79 inches in length compared to his height which was 76 inches. Compared to most other Olympic swimmers, Michael Phelps is of average height.

2. His abnormally large feet, shoe size 14.

3. His reported legs and ankle which were supposed to be double jointed giving him a greater range of flexibility, allowing for his feet to give strong bursts of propulsion.

4. His disproportionately long and large torso, compared to his legs. Supposedly he had the torso of someone who was more 6 ‘8″ and the legs of someone who was 6’ 0″. (Reference Link 1)

Now that the Summer Olympics are back and Michael Phelps swimming prowess are again mentioned, along with Ryan Lochte this time. We could talk more about his swimming accomplishment but lets focus on his height and length, which is what this site is about. I used to also be a huge swimmer as well so I guess I could be more authoritive on my swimming analysis but no one really wants to hear about that.

One thing that is clear from the start is that professional, Olympic ranked swimmers are usually very tall (Reference Link 1). However, the point that I wanted to emphasize about the swimmers build is over reason #4, that the torso seems to be far larger and longer than the legs.

I realized long ago that my body was of the same shape as Phelps, but not as tall. My torso is abnormally large and long compared to my legs. During the Summer of 2008 I really was doing 2 main things. Going to swim early in the morning for 2 and a half hours. Then, coming back home late in the afternoon to watch the Olympics, specifically Phelps to swim. Unfortunately of all the races, the one I missed was his 7th swim, against Michael Cavic which was definitely the most exhilirating swim match I have ever seen.

When I saw the amount of food that Phelps ate and compared it to myself, I wondered about this theory. What if the portions of a person’s torso to their legs is mainly determined by their eating habits when they are young?

I know that I used to eat the same amount as 2, maybe even 3 normal sized grown adults. My stomach would always be stretched out and I could feel my entire upper body ,the torso being expanded as much as possible. My mother noticed early on that my upper body seemed to be far greater than my legs. In terms of genetics,  I do have some height in my family. My Grandfather from my mother’s side of the family was supposed around 6 feet tall during a time when the average male of his country was probably 5’4″-5’6″. My male cousin is on my mothers side is also rather tall, but his height seems to be from his legs. My father’s side of the family is on the short side with rather average to short length legs.

When all this information is combined, I form this theory in my head.

1. The size and length of our torso is mainly determined by the amount of food and the nutrition value we gain when we were younger while still growing. So if you eat a lot when you are younger, you will grow taller because your torso, vertebrate, and skeletal structure will be increased in size.

2. The size and length of our legs , and subsequently, our arms and limns are determined by our genetics and the heights of our relatives and ancestors.

So that is it. My theory is really something I have thought about but never tried to prove or disprove. You can choose to accept it or not but it was something I wanted to put out there for others to think about.