When watching professional basketball players on television, we can’t help but wonder how they are so tall. Many people assume that basketball makes them tall, but is this true? To better understand the relationship between playing basketball and height growth, it is necessary to examine scientific studies done in the past. Can you grow taller by playing basketball? If so, how much can you grow as an adult? Read on to find out!
Does Playing Basketball Make You Taller?
In recent years, there has been a lot of research into the relationship between playing basketball and human height. New findings indicate that there exists a correlation between human height development and basketball. Some people disregard this as an old wives’ tale, arguing that genetics is the sole determinant of how tall you’ll be. However, there’s evidence suggesting that the movements involved in playing the game of basketball may help boost height growth during your growing years.
The reason why this might be important is that if you engage in sport as a child or adolescent, it will increase your chances of reaching your adult height potential by approximately 4 inches (10 cm). It has also been shown that older adults who played sports had more muscle mass and less fat than those who didn’t play at all. This can be attributed to increased blood flow to the muscles which helps them grow more rapidly during adolescence and adulthood.
A study conducted on young adults aged 20-30 showed that those who played sports consistently throughout childhood were found to have significantly higher levels of testosterone than those who did not participate in physical activity at all.
The idea that playing basketball can make you taller isn’t new. But a new study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology found evidence to suggest that it may be true. The study looked at the relationship between height and basketball participation and found that those who played basketball on a regular basis were more likely to grow taller than their non-playing counterparts.
The study also included data from an earlier experiment conducted by the same research team, which found that basketball players had larger muscle mass than non-players. This suggests that some of the muscle growth from playing basketball could contribute to height gains.
Why Are Basketball Players So Tall?
The average height of an American male is 5 feet 9 inches. The average height of an American female is 5 feet 4 inches. The average basketball player is 6 feet 7 inches or taller and has a weight that is between 180 and 230 pounds. This means that the average basketball player weighs close to 200 pounds, which is not very light for the sport.
The reason why basketball players are so tall is because of their profession in which they spend hours on the court or in practice. They also need to be able to jump high enough to get rebounds and block shots from other players, so they work out hard during their off-season training sessions.
If you want to increase your height naturally, then playing basketball will help you out with that because of all of the exercises and stretches you do while playing the game.
Does Playing Basketball Make You Taller? Reddit & Quora
One Quora user wrote…
“The thing that most people are missing here is that your body tries to adjust according to the situation. This is why bodybuilders look shorter, and you get pumped biceps after bicep curl. Height is a sensitive thing so it can majorly be acted upon till the age of 20. If you give yourself a lot of jumping, basketball dunk practices, it will give give you 2–4 inches height more than your genetics. Trust me guys, I have seen this thing work with guys. Majority of the basketballers have crossed their genetic limit because of this. And those of you who say that it’s better for tall people that’s why they get into it, go into a middle school and you’’ll find dozens guys who’ll be playing well despite their height…If you keep on cycling since childhood, you’’ll get good quads. play badminton and better forearms. Play football and you’’ll be restricted to your genetic potential…and start practicing basketball dunks and you’’ll see increment beyond your genetics….but yup there’s a limit that depends upon the genetics.” …read this answer here.
In the comment to the above answer, another Quora user wrote, “Im 30 years old now and ill be 31 next year april my height was 5″7 or 170 cms till jan 2019 but now im 5″8.5 during 2019 and 2021 i work out a lot especially running my shin bone hurts my whole body hurts i never expected to regain height. Pardon it feels so good when ur friend if u r same height become shorter and ones taller become your equal.”
Would it be possible for me to grow taller in my late teens?
Hello, everyone. Nowadays, I would always spend a time with myself to go around in the living room of my family home to look for a tape measure and use it to measure my own height to check if I have grown an inch, which I always still be measured at 177cm as my current height( since the age of 16) as I want to grow extra taller at the age of 19 currently before turning 20 in 2 months. So I really want to know if it might be possible for me to increase my height again until the age of 21? Also does playing basketball could actually add an extra inch for me to get taller my height?
Check out the responses to this query on Reddit.
