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Tall people seem to get all the breaks and opportunities, expecially if your ideal occupation is an airline host/hostess or a model. Are you tired of being short? Do you wish you were taller? If you are not satisfied with your height, or lack thereof, keep reading for the latest medical and physical trends for vertically challenged people.
Being so tall has its disadvantages too. Kevin, an English expat towers over the crowd at 198 cm. His height has given him many headaches the nine years he has lived in Thailand. "I can't count the amount of times I've hit my head on doorways or the hanging fans on busses." On top of banging his head around, he says it's not pleasurable being stared at everywhere he goes. Aside from sticking out as a foreigner, he's also taller than most people around. His wife Noy, though tall for a Thai girl at 171 cm, looks like she could be his daughter when standing next to him.
Aside from this, Tall people tend to have a harder time finding clothes and shoes that fit, not to mention sufficient relaxing furniture (i.e. beds, sofas), and usually always have back aches from having to slouch so much in automobiles.
So maybe you don't want to be taller than average, but you would still like to be as tall as the average. There are a few controversial alternatives available, though one must exercise extreme caution and consideration before trying these.
Lim lengthening surgery will bring the quickest results though the surgery recovery time is uncertain---weeks, months, even years. It involves surgically adding bone to your legs-20 to 30 cm is possible. It's quite an expensive procedure that'll cost no less than 100,000 $USD (4 million baht) as it's difficult to find surgeons who will perform it for the risks and ethical issues surrounding it.
Limb lengthening surgery was developed by a Russian doctor Gavril Abramovich Illizarov 50 years ago as an alternative for dwarfs. There are 300 forms of dwarfism, the most common known as Achondroplasia which effects roughly 1 in 40,000 births in the world. While the procedure proves to be popular among dwarfs wishing to fit in with the crowd, many dwarf associations such as the Little People of America (LPA) are against it for it's health risks. Not only is nerve and vascular damage highly likely but pre mature arthritis is also another possible complication.
Not so excited about spending millions for someone to hack your legs in half? Another alternative is to induce artificial growth or hormone stimulants. Hormones are what make us grow. Our brains start sending signals to our bodies to produce growth hormones when we go through puberty. When we reach a certain age (girls about 20 and guys a little later as late as 25 though it varies all over the world depending on many factors) our bodies stop producing these hormones and we have reached our maximum height.
Growth hormones pills or injections stimulate your body to keep producing and/or produce more of these growth hormones artificially. It works just like steroids. Not only will you get taller, but don't be surprised if you start getting bigger all over and an increase in body/ facial hair.
NJ Suggests:
Still determined to get tall, but not sure which is the best way? Unless you are already 30 years old, there is a good chance you could still be growing. But if you are absolutely convinced that you have reached your maximum height, here are some natural and ethical suggestions:
Most of us never reach our full height potential for many reasons such as slouching, unbalanced diet, and improper exercising. Therefore, try to keep a good posture--sit up straight, stand tall. This will automatically add a few cm to your height. Screen your diet. Drink and eat lot's of calcium and vitamin enriched foods such as fruit, vegetables, milk and juice instead of coffee, soda, and power drinks---which are believed to stun your growth. Finally, thoroughly stretch in between exercises. Yoga is not only a great way to increase your flexibility, but it also increases your body's circulation, and thus growth.
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