Affluent Rich Parents in USA and giving their kids HGH to make them taller

This is no different than all the parents who get their kids on PEDs in order to better position them for college athletic scholarships.

This doesn’t surprise me. I used to coach against one of the most affluent schools in Texas. In b-ball the kids, even the freshman, were all jacked - shoulders and biceps like softballs, wide back, big traps. It was pretty obvious a lot of them were on some kind of steroids because they were all acne covered on their shoulders and back. Their older kids were all bigger than me and I was jacked back then, I was a gym rat. Steroids are heck of a lot cheaper than HGH and easier to find. Anything to get little Johnny into D1 athletics.

My dad did it to my brother.

It didn’t work.

crazzzy1216 wrote:

99% of people are meant to be at the height they are at.

in a world where people take meds to grow there will be no difference between a tall and small person. no one will be advantaged from taking growth medicine if everyone takes it.

No, this is 100% wrong.

There are a myriad of cultures around the world who are much shorter in stature due to inadequate nutrition. Multiple studies have shown that when these groups are provided adequate nutrition (usually through immigration), their offspring (a generation or two later) will approach the mean heights of the rest of the general population.

Frank Shorty wrote:

I think there is evidence of favouritism towards taller people, just as there is towards good looks, race etc.

Because:

It’s unfortunate people feel this is necessary. Increased height is desirable though it really shouldn’t be. Human obsession with height is stupid. It’s crazy to see the stats on the height of former presidents and Fortune 500 CEOs. Height is important to many and thus you see parents trying to help their children.

I was offered HGH treatment by my parents years ago for my short stature. I turned it down because I trusted God had built my body correctly.

This all stops when we stop caring about height. So never probably.

I highly doubt that this is true. If you were 4’6”, then maybe. But at 5’6”, you are taller than 14% of men, and 79% of women in the US.

1) What "radical life extension"?

2) Genetic engineering still seems like a long ways off in terms of practical application.

Rich kids will always have access to more things than poorer kids. There is a bias toward being taller so I see why. It appears to work and the French study cited shows a small increase in all-cause mortality. The issue might be the kid not having a say in it, but parents are legally able to do what they deem best for their kids in most cases.

In the scheme of things, this is something well down the list of concerns I have.

I'm under the impression this is all about dick length.

HS junior and there was one short shrimpy kid who sprung up to 6 something and word went around about how he "didn't grow like he was supposed to so they got growth hormone"

Hourunner wrote:

This doesn’t surprise me. I used to coach against one of the most affluent schools in Texas. In b-ball the kids, even the freshman, were all jacked - shoulders and biceps like softballs, wide back, big traps. It was pretty obvious a lot of them were on some kind of steroids because they were all acne covered on their shoulders and back. Their older kids were all bigger than me and I was jacked back then, I was a gym rat. Steroids are heck of a lot cheaper than HGH and easier to find. Anything to get little Johnny into D1 athletics.

In college, I started lifting seriously and eating a high protein diet, but took no supplements, and broke out with acne on my shoulders and back. I did gain a lot of muscle mass, however.

Ha...maybe 5-6 is tall to you because you might be one of those diminutive 5-2, 100 lb college runner-girl types where everybody other than a midget looks tall to you . But I got news for you - go to one of the more popular gyms during peaks hours and see how tall a lot of the members are working out there. Even more women now are going over 5-7!

Being a short runt (I'm 5-5 1/2) you get absolutely no respect and are scoffed at by taller males. Being short in life sucks and all short guys (except the ones who are very wealthy) know this. Of course, many may come on anonymous forums like this and say it isn't that bad - but they're just putting on an act or trolling. Trust me - I've yet to meet a short guy in person who's content and at ease with their height (why do you think there's such a good market for elevator shoes ?).

I'm 5'8". Maybe that ends up being a drastic difference from 5'6", I don't know. I do know being 5'8" is just fine. Amongst people you know well, it's 100% a non issue and doesn't impact respect or any other factor.

In groups of women it also changes nothing. Height really isn't that big of a deal there. I'm 5'8", confident, and in shape and have always done just fine dating, as have plenty of other men I know sub 5'10".

In groups of men, or in first impressions with men, I would say it makes some difference. This is THE area I notice my height. You just don't have the same "presence" as a bigger frame guy that's 6'1" or 6'3". You don't naturally radiate authority to people that don't know you. That said, this is a minor thing top me. Perhaps it puts you at a slight disadvantage in job seeking and a few other things, but it's not a large obstacle, and is easily overcome. I certainly wouldn't trade say...10 IQ points for an extra 6" of height. As you get better known in these groups, or have more natural confidence, you can begin to exert more presence. I've seen plenty of cases of guys 5'10" and under who are clear leaders of their peer or friend groups, despite being among the shortest guys in that group.

Height is just one of those things, like facial attractiveness (which again I would take over height any day of the week), that plays a somewhat powerful role in group dynamics with people to whom you are a stranger or outsider.

I felt the same way when I was younger and dealing with dating etc... I guess I grew out of that and I am now pretty content. I feel bad that my kids, especially my sons, have to deal with being short.

Being rich should not exempt you from a long stay in the manlet pit

[quote]LM wrote:

I'm 5'8". Maybe that ends up being a drastic difference from 5'6", I don't know. I do know being 5'8" is just fine. Amongst people you know well, it's 100% a non issue and doesn't impact respect or any other factor.

In groups of women it also changes nothing. Height really isn't that big of a deal there. I'm 5'8", confident, and in shape and have always done just fine dating, as have plenty of other men I know sub 5'10".[/quite]C'mon...man; 5-8 isn't just fine. It's certainly better than 5-6 but 5-8 is short for a male these days.

Anyone can come on anonymous forum like this and say height "really isn't really that big of a deal" - you're putting on an act and you know it. Maybe this is your way of dealing with it but being a short runt (I"m barely 5-5 1/2) at least I can admit the disadvantages being a short male in life has. Society is becoming less & less tolerant of short males. There's no perks in life being short compared to the six-footers.

Height matters big time (no surprise there):

https://youtu.be/3nH_T9fLd_Q

https://youtu.be/E04CIdkRYhI

I would slightly disagree. The disadvantages of being short, in my mind, FAR outweigh the positives. There are some positives:

- health and longevity. Still being hashed out, but in general shorter people seem to fair better and live slightly longer than taller people

-$$$: As a short person you just don't take as much energy to live. Food costs and other factors are a financial benefit.

Ofc, these are silver linings and refer to my opening line here for overall take. Pivoting away from that, you realize, right now, that you are putting yourself in a position of "I'm right, and if you disagree with me you're lying"?There isn't much point of having a conversation with someone who is going to believe what they want to believe.

As for your videos, that's women saying what they "want". I don't really care if women say that won't date a man under "5'10" or under "6'0" when I've never had an issue getting dates with women of all heights. Maybe (okay, definitely) I could have done even better if I was 6" taller. But, that's never been an issue. I've never been like "damn, dating is so hard cuz I'm short". It's always been "I'm very satisfied with my dating life".

That's the crux of why I say it isn't an issue. I'm not saying it isn't a disadvantage. I'm saying it's not enough of a disadvantage for me to notice it's impacted my life in anything but minor ways, and I'm very, very satisfied with my life. Height is NOT a barrier to that, save for having some crazy ambitious goals in life wanting to be well inside the top 1% in major life categories...and even then we can point to examples of shorter people (Cruise, Harrington, etc.) that are among the social elite, despite of their height.

I somewhat stated it above, but yes, height matters. You're not wrong. In my opinion it's just that most of my fellow short guys get this idea that height is a BIG deal. It just isn't. Especially if you're decent looking. Short and average or below average attractiveness definitely starts to become a pretty big handicap. Perhaps that's why I find it less of an issue.

Again, I notice it the most with groups of people, especially guys, that I don't know. If it's me out, and I meet a group of 4 women, I still am generally taller than them and naturally have presence. That's different with a group of guys. It's more of a handicap there.

You can really look at this like having a VO2 max of 60 (6'0") versus VO2 of 45(5'6"). It's an advantage, perhaps even a significant one. But, if one trains works hard and develops other areas, they can easily outperform the more physiologically gifted runner. Having a VO2 of 45 precludes you from being in the top 1 % of runners, it's true. You'll never run 15:00 or probably even 17:00 with that. But, you can absolutely run 20:00 and be in the top 10%.

When it comes down to it, top 10% is pretty damn decent in life terms. That's a well above average wife/husband, 120k a year HH income, respected as a competent employee at your job or career, etc. Height, however, is much less a determinant of any sort of success in life than VO2 is in running, so the picture looks even better than the above. Moreover, we can find successful short people in all aspects of life: there are short guys dating elite women in society, short guys bossing it up as CEOs, short guys succeeding in (most) athletic endeavors, etc. By and large, they aren't even rare enough to be outliers.

On top of that, while being short is a disadvantage, so is everything else in life. Being below average in looks is a massive disadvantage, being lower IQ is a massive disadvantage, etc. Height is one of many factors in life that can help or hinder you. All but a tiny, tiny, tiny sliver of the population have strong traits and weak traits. The guy that's 6'3" might look decent but be of average intelligence. A guy might be smart and tell, but quite ugly. A guy might be tall, somewhat intelligent, and attractive, but struggles with being high inhibition and lacking confidence as a result, etc. Almost nobody has it all.

Height is one of my weaknesses in that sense, and in my mind it's by far the most minor "curse" to bear, at least at 5'8". Obviously, I'd be happy if I magically grew 5". But, again, I would NOT take a hit to attractiveness to gain height, nor would I take a hit to intelligence or almost any other trait I can think of to gain height.

Tribe wrote:

I wonder how many parents do this to enhance sports potential. Think of all the benefits to a promising basketball player. Or how about the explosion of tall Russian female tennis players in the past decade.

I did some reading on the subject and doesn't seem like expectations for sports has anything to do with it. Parents have a son that is projected to be 5'3" and believe he will have a happier life if he can be a few inches taller.