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Chinese and South Korean children grew taller in one generation: What are the learnings for parents to support height growth in kids
TOI Lifestyle Desk / etimes.in / Updated: Jun 25, 2026, 12:03 ISTIn many families, a child’s height is solely related to genetics. “Height runs in the family” is a sentence used countless times. Many believe if the parents are short, the child will also grow up to be short and if they’re tall, the child will likely grow up to be the same. However, for many years, the drastic change in height growth in some countries surprised researchers. Among the most striking examples are China and South Korea, where children and teenagers gained significant height compared to previous generations. Children whose parents were shorter grew up to be taller.
Explaining this, parenting and child development coach Hitesh M offered an important lesson for Indian parents. Giving the examples of veteran Bollywood actor Aamir Khan’s son and cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar’s son, the expert noted that height is not determined by genetics alone. If height were determined by genetics alone, their kids should have been shorter.
The study that revealed the cause
Parenting and child development coach Hitmesh M mentioned the study that analysed height and body mass index trends among school-aged children and adolescents across 200 countries and territories.The 2020 study published in The Lancet examined data from more than 65 million participants collected between 1985 and 2019. The findings revealed substantial height gains among children in several East Asian countries, particularly China and South Korea.
The Lancet study showed how dramatically children's height can change across generations when nutrition, health, and living conditions improve.
The four horsemen of height growth
Parenting and child development coach Hitesh M says Indian parents can learn from China and South Korea by focusing on four everyday factors to support healthy growth. These factors are:Nutrition
When parents consider their child’s height, they often focus on supplements, special foods, or powders. However, studies note that height growth starts with something much simpler: Nutrition. Hitesh highlights four nutrients that deserve special attention: protein, iron, zinc, and calcium. “When you provide your kids with protein, iron, zinc, and calcium, that nutrition really helps your children to grow taller,” notes Hitesh.Some sources of these nutrients are:
Protein: egg, dairy products , chicken, fish, nuts and seeds.
Iron: green leafy vegetables, lentils, beans, meat
Zinc: Dairy products, seeds, meat, whole grains
Calcium: milk, curd, paneer, ragi, sesame seeds
