Why do we grow taller?
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What is something you can do now that you could not do when you were smaller?
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Transcript
Why do we grow taller as we get older?
Inside your bones, new bone is being made as you grow. It helps your arms, legs, and whole body get longer.
Food, sleep, and play help your body do its growing work. Your body uses good fuel and rest to build itself.
You grow a tiny bit at a time, not all in one day. Soon, you may notice your pants or shoes feel small!
So that's why we grow taller: our bones slowly grow longer as our bodies build and change.
For grown-ups: the science
We grow taller because our bones slowly grow longer as our bodies grow.
Long bones grow in length at growth plates near their ends, where cartilage cells multiply and are gradually replaced by bone. Growth is influenced by genetics, nutrition, sleep, hormones, health, and activity; food, sleep, and play support healthy development but do not directly control height on their own.