Are Celiacs Much Shorter Than Parents?

[driedupfish]

So at what height relative to your family member is considered short stature in the medical sense? Short stature due to disease or health problem not genetic. I know the most accurate way is to look at the growth chart. But I don't have one. Let's say if someone is shorter than his father by a lot, would that be enough to tell that his short stature is cause by a health problem?

I am about the same height as my father, only maybe 1 inch (or less) shorter ( I am 20 years old by the way).

For those who's growth is stunt because of Celiac disease, are they usually much shorter than their parents?

[neesee]

So at what height relative to your family member is considered short stature in the medical sense? Short stature due to disease or health problem not genetic. I know the most accurate way is to look at the growth chart. But I don't have one. Let's say if someone is shorter than his father by a lot, would that be enough to tell that his short stature is cause by a health problem?

I am about the same height as my father, only maybe 1 inch (or less) shorter ( I am 20 years old by the way).

For those who's growth is stunt because of Celiac disease, are they usually much shorter than their parents?

How tall are your parents? My dad was 5'8" and my mom was 4'11". I am 4'10 1/2". I have no idea if I would have been taller or not. My mom was a type 1 diabetic that showed very definate signs of having celiac. My mom's side of the family wasn't very tall. She had a grandpa that was 5' and 115 lbs. He was never sturdy enough to work.

[kenlove]

I'm 3 inches taller than my father was and close to a foot taller than my mother. Neither of them had food allergies, nor did my grandparents.

ken

So at what height relative to your family member is considered short stature in the medical sense? Short stature due to disease or health problem not genetic. I know the most accurate way is to look at the growth chart. But I don't have one. Let's say if someone is shorter than his father by a lot, would that be enough to tell that his short stature is cause by a health problem?

I am about the same height as my father, only maybe 1 inch (or less) shorter ( I am 20 years old by the way).

For those who's growth is stunt because of Celiac disease, are they usually much shorter than their parents?

[ravenwoodglass]

So at what height relative to your family member is considered short stature in the medical sense? Short stature due to disease or health problem not genetic. I know the most accurate way is to look at the growth chart. But I don't have one. Let's say if someone is shorter than his father by a lot, would that be enough to tell that his short stature is cause by a health problem?

I am about the same height as my father, only maybe 1 inch (or less) shorter ( I am 20 years old by the way).

For those who's growth is stunt because of Celiac disease, are they usually much shorter than their parents?

I was glad to find this, it answers one of the questions I asked you in a reply to your PM. Please do get the bone growth xrays and consult with your doctor and endocrinologist. There is a chance your plates have fused at 20 but there is also a good chance that they have not. But it will happen soon. If this issue is addressed NOW, and boy do I wish my DS had not ignored my insistance that he see a doctor about this, there is a chance that if your growth was impacted it can be helped. You need to be really strict about the diet but that won't impact any testing the doctors will do, other than the ones for celiac. I am obviously assuming that you are already diagnosed.

With celiac being a genetic disorder it is going to be difficult to go off of how tall anyones parents were simply because there is no way of knowing if any of them were also growth impacted. Do grab your growth charts from infancy to take with you when you go to the appointment. Although they haven't been kept up, to your knowledge, they can show what percentile you were in at birth and where you are now. Also your ped may have kept records of this that your parents are unaware of, it is standard procedure but if your parents don't look at or keep copies of the records you wouldn't know that. If you are in the US you have a legal right to complete copies of those records but at 20 you have to ask for them your parents can't.

[RiceGuy]

As ravenwoodglass said, the parents of a Celiac might also be shorter than they should've been. After all, Celiac is genetic, so it seems more likely than not that at least one of them might have at least had delayed growth, if not wound up somewhat shorter than they should be.

But, since you didn't say how tall you are, I can't even venture a guess as to whether you should be any taller. Not that everyone should reach some minimum, because there are other genetic factors. Apparently though, there is some height under which it is considered Open Original Shared Link. As I understand it, a person's limbs are usually out of proportion too.

I know someone whom is very short (IMO due to undiagnosed Celiac, and they refuse the diet). They got the usual therapy, which did nothing but close the "growth window", leaving them permanently stunted. In my opinion, the body couldn't grow due to the incorrect diet.

I was very short for most of my childhood, then shot up like a weed during my teens. I've read that Celiac symptoms are known to diminish or disappear like that, only to return in adulthood.

HTH

[darlindeb25]

To begin with, not all celiac's are short. Short stature is only one symptom of celiac disease. Often times, your height is determined by family genes. The doctor I work for says that a son will always be taller than his mother, and to be honest, I find this to be true. My sons are all tall, all 6' and taller. My dad, and my son's dad are both 5'11". My brother is 6'3". My ex had 2 brothers, one is 5'7" and the other was probably 6'. None of the his brothers or mine is celiac. My dad is gluten intolerant, and probably 5'10 now, he has gotten shorter, and is 73 now. I am 5'5, my sister is 5'3, and our mom used to be around 5'4, she has scoliosis, and is shorter now. My daughter is the same height as me, 5'5".

It's true, celiac effects many of us in different ways, but it is also true, we can not blame everything on celiac disease. Your height may just be a family factor.

[celiac-mommy]

I'm 5'11", my sister is 6'3", brother is 6'5", my husband is 6'5" his sister is only about 5'3" but she also has cerebral palsy and has spine formation issues. None of us are diagnosed Celiacs--but my kids are, my son has only been gluten-free for 5mo and has moved from the 10% in height to the 55%-~38" tall (!!!!) and my 6yo is 52" tall which is past the 95% (!!!) she's REALLY tall-she's been gluten-free for 2.5 years.

[jayhawkmom]

I agree, not all Celiacs are short. My grandfather was well over 6' tall. I'm 5'6" and taller than both my parents. My sister, however, is only 5'2".

My 7 year old Celiac isn't even on the growth charts for her age.... however, she IS following her own growth curve now. Before going gluten-free, she was all over the place... but never where she should be. I was told that if she continues on the same curve she's been on, she'll *probably* not make it to quite five feet tall. But, there's always a chance she'll catch up.

[driedupfish]

To begin with, not all celiac's are short. Short stature is only one symptom of celiac disease. Often times, your height is determined by family genes. The doctor I work for says that a son will always be taller than his mother, and to be honest, I find this to be true. My sons are all tall, all 6' and taller. My dad, and my son's dad are both 5'11". My brother is 6'3". My ex had 2 brothers, one is 5'7" and the other was probably 6'. None of the his brothers or mine is celiac. My dad is gluten intolerant, and probably 5'10 now, he has gotten shorter, and is 73 now. I am 5'5, my sister is 5'3, and our mom used to be around 5'4, she has scoliosis, and is shorter now. My daughter is the same height as me, 5'5".

It's true, celiac effects many of us in different ways, but it is also true, we can not blame everything on celiac disease. Your height may just be a family factor.

My ex had 2 brothers, one is 5'7" and the other was probably 6'.

---Are you sure they are related? 5'7'' and 6' ?

My dad is about 5'7'', mom flat 5'

me about 5'6''

sister about 5'3''

[purple]

My dd has not been tested for Celiac but she is gluten intolerant. She is 5'3 1/2". I am 5' 3". Dh is 5'4", his mother was maybe 5'. Both of them, dd and grandma, have alot of symptoms. Grandpa is about 5' 9" and no symptoms. Slight change of subject matter here...my dd(19) is almost gluten-free since Feb. and her chest grew one size bigger . Hope for you gals (guys ) out there.

[Darn210]

My ex had 2 brothers, one is 5'7" and the other was probably 6'.

---Are you sure they are related? 5'7'' and 6' ?

My dad is about 5'7'', mom flat 5'

me about 5'6''

sister about 5'3''

My brothers ranged from 5' 8" to 6' 2" . . . I'm pretty sure they're all my brothers . . .

My son's GI said that you can roughly estimate adult height by averaging the parents' height and adding 2" for a boy and subtracting 2" for a girl . . . rough estimate!!! . . . just to kind of give you an indication if something looks off using projected growth on a child's growth curve (my son's projected adult height at one point was 5' 2" so, yeah, it looked like something was wrong because it should have been more along the lines of 5'10"). . . by his reasoning, you're height would be in line with your parent's height. Now the question is, are your parents' heights in line with their parents' heights??

[driedupfish]

My brothers ranged from 5' 8" to 6' 2" . . . I'm pretty sure they're all my brothers . . .

My son's GI said that you can roughly estimate adult height by averaging the parents' height and adding 2" for a boy and subtracting 2" for a girl . . . rough estimate!!! . . . just to kind of give you an indication if something looks off using projected growth on a child's growth curve (my son's projected adult height at one point was 5' 2" so, yeah, it looked like something was wrong because it should have been more along the lines of 5'10"). . . by his reasoning, you're height would be in line with your parent's height. Now the question is, are your parents' heights in line with their parents' heights??

My mom is taller than her mother, and my father is about 2 to 3 inches taller than his father.

[darlindeb25]

My ex had 2 brothers, one is 5'7" and the other was probably 6'.

---Are you sure they are related? 5'7'' and 6' ?

Yes, I know my ex and his borthers all have the same mom and dad. Their eyes are all like their dad's, 3 of my sons have that same familiar look, my other 2 kids look like me, my daughter so much like me. My sister is 5'3, her husband is 5'11 or so and all 3 of their kids are tall.

As I said, height is not always determined by celiac disease. I belong to the Suffolk County Celiac support group, we have well over 100 members and we are all different heights, many being tall...we are all different sizes too, some very thin, some average, some overweight. Celiac is an equal opportunity disease, it really doesn't seem to pick and choose it's members!

[ravenwoodglass]

Another thing that you need to take into consideration as far as celiac and height goes is that not everyone is effected by celiac in childhood. Celiac can be triggered at any point in life and for some it may not appear until close to adulthood. A child effected by celiac in infancy will probably show more growth impact than a child whose disorder is not triggered until late childhood or the teen years. While neither of my children ever reached the size that was estimated when they were young one was ill since infancy, he is 5 ft and my DD whose impact started when she was closer to the teen years is 5'5". I am 5'3", about 3 inches taller than my adult son.

[ShayFL]

Raven...you took the words right out of my mouth.

Reading down and going to type that not everyone is triggered during the "growth years".

But just for science:

I am 5'3, my sister is 5'4 and my Mom is 5'6. My Dad was 5'10. I wear a size 9 shoe on my 5'3 frame, so I believe I should have been taller.

[darlindeb25]

I wear a size 9 shoe on my 5'3 frame, so I believe I should have been taller.

You are so cute..hehe. Big feet really do not have anything to do with your height. My daughter is the same height as me, with smaller feet, and dainty hands. My dad was the same height as my ex husband, yet he wore a size 9 shoe and my ex wears 11 2/3. My son's are close in height, and the 2 closest, wear size 13 shoes, but their hands are no where close to the same...one son wears a size 16 ring, and the other wears a 9. Height really has nothing to do with big hands or feet. My mom says having big feet just keeps you steady in the wind!!!!!

[ShayFL]

Maybe God knew what he was doing cuz I have vertigo as a symptom....those big feet come in handy. Hubby jokes that they are big to balance my big boobies.

[gfp]

Yes, I know my ex and his borthers all have the same mom and dad. Their eyes are all like their dad's, 3 of my sons have that same familiar look, my other 2 kids look like me, my daughter so much like me. My sister is 5'3, her husband is 5'11 or so and all 3 of their kids are tall.

As I said, height is not always determined by celiac disease. I belong to the Suffolk County Celiac support group, we have well over 100 members and we are all different heights, many being tall...we are all different sizes too, some very thin, some average, some overweight. Celiac is an equal opportunity disease, it really doesn't seem to pick and choose it's members!

LOL

However 1:20 children are not the product of their supposed father (random testing, for those that seek paternity tests its 1:7)

Always worth considering (however well we think we know) ... its like I tell people about celiac disease, take a plane with 500 people and 4-5 with have celiac disease.... take a small bus with 20 and chances are someones pop is not their pop ...

However on growth, I can't help wonder how people get so serious about height. Really, if people think its somehow important that their kid can play competitive basketball then either marry someone who is 7' or get artificial insemination from a 7' donor...

their are of course some real issues (as ravenwood mentioned) but parents overfeeding kids to get them to hit some artificial percentile (calculated from fat kids who will likely be obese when they are older) is not exactly healthy either.

For the record, my celiac disease mom is 5'2" my pop 6" and myself and non celiac disease bother 5'10.5" (measured in metric)... not like I care about the .5

[ShayFL]

I always liked being short. Basketball didnt interest me. But I learned pretty early on that the tall guys liked us short/petite girls just fine. I'm attracted to tall men because I like feeling smaller than my guy. It feels more secure/safe/natural to me. I tried dating guys close to my height and I always felt "bigger" than them (even though I wasnt). It might be because I am an Alpha Female and need a bigger male to balance me. The tallest guy I dated was 6'8.

Off topic.......sorry.......

[darlindeb25]

Hubby jokes that they are big to balance my big boobies.

Thank you ShayFl...I needed that laugh!!! There must be another reason for my big feet, cause your balance problem is not mine!!! My guy friend tells me my sister pushed me out of the boobie line!!! Although, I do have a balance problem too!!!

Now me, I loved basketball, wasn't great at it, but I loved it. My tallest son is a very good basketball player.

Oh, and by the way, I do know who the father is of all my kids and I am 99% sure my ex husband's brothers all have the same dad. There are a lot of reasons, not just their eyes.

[ravenwoodglass]

However on growth, I can't help wonder how people get so serious about height. Really, if people think its somehow important that their kid can play competitive basketball then either marry someone who is 7' or get artificial insemination from a 7' donor...

I have felt the same way. However after watching what my DS goes through trying to find clothes that fit, shoes are the worst and he always has to buy a size too big and use double thick socks even in summer, and a car that is comfortable for him to drive, and the difficulties he has in social circles after years of teasing by his peers....well, my opinion has changed. Also there is a difference between being on the short side and having your growth stunted by a disease that should have been caught in childhood.

[gfp]

I always liked being short. Basketball didnt interest me. But I learned pretty early on that the tall guys liked us short/petite girls just fine. I'm attracted to tall men because I like feeling smaller than my guy. It feels more secure/safe/natural to me. I tried dating guys close to my height and I always felt "bigger" than them (even though I wasnt). It might be because I am an Alpha Female and need a bigger male to balance me. The tallest guy I dated was 6'8.

Off topic.......sorry.......

Offtopic ????

Not really.

Women's taste in men changes with their menstrual cycle and also if they take the pill or not.

We all have a inbuilt need to breed the strongest stock but it's messed up by culture and society (no wonder we are so confused)

10,000 years ago a big strong man was better to provide ... now the quiet geek with glasses might have a better job than the jock from college and be able to provide better.

From a guy POV, we have altered our expectations from well formed hips to cultural influences saying 'heroine chic' is attractive.

My Girlfriend is about 1/8" shorter than I am.... I have to admit I prefer her wearing flat shoes ....

My last Gluten-free was 5'2" ....

I have felt the same way. However after watching what my DS goes through trying to find clothes that fit, shoes are the worst and he always has to buy a size too big and use double thick socks even in summer, and a car that is comfortable for him to drive, and the difficulties he has in social circles after years of teasing by his peers....well, my opinion has changed. Also there is a difference between being on the short side and having your growth stunted by a disease that should have been caught in childhood.

When I was 18 I looked 16 and was constantly teased. At 5'10" I'm not really short ... my place of birth that's actually pretty 'medium'. When I lived in Norway I had the same problem buying clothes ... in France I had no problem except I have a tiny waist (28") ..

Now I'm 40 suddenly the teasing when I was 18 seems somewhat old. Few people believe I'm 40 (even smoking for 15 of those years)...

For clothes, why not order from a European catalog? (or Australian).... I know you will have to pay some delivery but not much???

The strange thing I found when in Australia (which has a high percent of oriental ethnics) I had to buy XL for shirts and jackets (I'm a 42-44" chest) and small for trousers (but I could buy them) .. Perhaps NY or SF would have clothes in these sizes? (large Chinese ethnic community)

Carwise ??? Again European/Asian models retrofitted with a European Seat....

If your interested in this I can find out more.... (My brother is somewhat an expert, it's his business)

He did set up a factory in the Twin Cities area making special car seats (His patent was expiring and the US company offered him consultancy) .. The seats area really designed for disabled people to get in and out of the car BUT ... he doesn't need that part, only the top seat part which would be MUCH cheaper.

You can get 'slides' which travel further (very cheap... I might be able to ask my bro for a pair for free, either case they would be much cheaper than shipping) and also spacers under the seat. He might just need to pop out the seat (usually just 4 bolts), replace the sliders and use the spacers (with longer bolt) which are the most comfortable height.

Doing this officially probably needs a DMV test.... (I know it does in the UK) but the Twin cities company might be able to just supply the sliders, spacers and longer bolts... (This is really only a few percent of the cost of the whole unit)

[ravenwoodglass]

When I was 18 I looked 16 and was constantly teased. At 5'10" I'm not really short ... my place of birth that's actually pretty 'medium'. When I lived in Norway I had the same problem buying clothes ... in France I had no problem except I have a tiny waist (28") ..

Now I'm 40 suddenly the teasing when I was 18 seems somewhat old. Few people believe I'm 40 (even smoking for 15 of those years)...

For clothes, why not order from a European catalog? (or Australian).... I know you will have to pay some delivery but not much???

The strange thing I found when in Australia (which has a high percent of oriental ethnics) I had to buy XL for shirts and jackets (I'm a 42-44" chest) and small for trousers (but I could buy them) .. Perhaps NY or SF would have clothes in these sizes? (large Chinese ethnic community)

Carwise ??? Again European/Asian models retrofitted with a European Seat....

If your interested in this I can find out more.... (My brother is somewhat an expert, it's his business)

He did set up a factory in the Twin Cities area making special car seats (His patent was expiring and the US company offered him consultancy) .. The seats area really designed for disabled people to get in and out of the car BUT ... he doesn't need that part, only the top seat part which would be MUCH cheaper.

You can get 'slides' which travel further (very cheap... I might be able to ask my bro for a pair for free, either case they would be much cheaper than shipping) and also spacers under the seat. He might just need to pop out the seat (usually just 4 bolts), replace the sliders and use the spacers (with longer bolt) which are the most comfortable height.

Doing this officially probably needs a DMV test.... (I know it does in the UK) but the Twin cities company might be able to just supply the sliders, spacers and longer bolts... (This is really only a few percent of the cost of the whole unit)

Thanks so much for the tip on clothes, would you perhaps know of some on line stores or catalogs I could get for him? We live in NY and have an outlet center 10 miles away that actually has clothes to fit me, a sz 2, because they have a lot of oriental folks that come there to shop but unfortunately they don't see fit to do the smaller sizes for men. He is a handsome young man but most of his clothes are too big and actually make him look smaller. They also hide the great shape he is in with his broad shoulders and small waist. We have encouraged him to just get stuff that is close and then have them altered by a tailor but the only thing he will do that with is suits. Clothes that actually fit would help him look more like the adult he is also instead of like a teen.

He did get around the car fit issue. He went with a small car and may have done some modification himself, not sure. We paid a small fortune for him to take classes in car mechanics and modification only to discover that he wanted to do it as a hobby not as a career. Oh well, he is studying physics and engineering now (he is brillant) and will hopefully tie the two together at some point.

[ShayFL]

Ultimately, I ended up with the "big strong guy" who also happens to be a geek (Historian).......LOL

[neesee]

I can usually find a car that fits me. Right now, I'm driving a HHR. I love this car! The seats are completely adjustable. My last car was a Grand Am. I did well with that one too. The seat adjustability has improved so much since I started driving so many years ago. I learned to drive on 1969 buicks. I used 2 thick seat cushions. I don't need anything like that now. No, I didn't get taller, cars got better.

Awwww shoot, there I go about cars again. It comes from living in GM territory. Grandpa was an engineer at Buick city. Dad worked at Chevrolet in the hole.( thats what its called), dh retired from Delphi.

neesee