Can we predict adult height of a child from his childhood height?
There are various statistical formulae to predict adult height of a child. As usual, they provide only a general indication and are not considered as absolute fool-proof ones. The simplest one- Tanner’s formula- says the adult height is double the child’s height at two years. Another formula of Tanner tells us that to get adult height from child’s height at three years, we have to multiply it by 1.87. Can we predict child’s height from parents’ heights? Yes, the statisticians have even worked out this riddle for us. If ‘A’ is father’s height and mother’s is ‘B’, then (A+B)/2 is called the mid-parental height. (Mid-parental height+ 6.5 cm) for boys and (Mid-parental height – 6.5cm) for girls is called the Corrected Mid-parental height. (Don’t ask me what all these terms mean! Ask the statisticians!) So the anticipated adult height for a child – male or female is equal to this corrected mid-parental height, give or take 8 cm here or there. What exactly is short stature? Short stature is
