Your older brother stunted your growth

by Jonathon Morgan (Subscribe to Jonathon Morgan's posts)
Sep 13th 2007 1:33PM

Categories: Diet & Weight Loss, Nutrition & Supplements

Are you shorter than your older brother? Chances are it's his fault you're not as tall.

That's according to new research from the University College London, that found younger siblings were generally shorter than their older brothers and sisters.

There's a few different theories as to why this may be the case. One is that, in larger families, resources may be limited, so when you finally arrived there was only so much time, money or love to go around. The other, is that you were adversely affected as a fetus -- as women who have multiple pregnancies are likely to put on weight, which subsequently makes their blood sugar levels poorer and hampers their pregnancy.

But before you start making angry phone calls to your older siblings, blaming them for all your problems, remember that there are plenty of benefits to being in a larger family -- it just turns out that height isn't one of them.

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Comments (87)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)

Amberashley 9-13-2007 @ 2:56PM

I'd have to disagree with this study due to the fact that many of my friends and I all have younger siblings who are taller than ourselves. In my case, my sister is nearly six inches taller, and one of my male friends has a sister three or four inches taller, and a brother who is more than six inches taller.
Of course, there is also a possibility that this is due to environmental effects that differ between Britain and the United States.

angcast3 9-13-2007 @ 2:59PM

Hey this isn't always the case. My older brother is only 5'6". My next youngewst brother is 6' and the youngest is 6'3". So in my family you are taller the younger you are!

butterfly-girl 9-13-2007 @ 2:59PM

That article is such bull crap!!! I am the second child and I am about 6 inches taller than my older sister. Also, I'm about 3 inches taller than my younger sister.

ReanaDanyellaRose 9-13-2007 @ 3:06PM

This is bullcrap!! In my family that is totally the opposite. My grandmother is taller than her sister and my mom is taller than her older brother but shorter than her younger brother.

i dont know 9-13-2007 @ 3:08PM

I agree with everyone else's comments:
Oldest Brother = 5'9
Me = 5'10
Little Brother = 6'4

somebody 9-13-2007 @ 3:09PM

This is complete crap!!! I'm a middle child. I have an older sister and a younger brother. My sister is barely five feet tall and my brother is 5'8". I'm 5'11". My sister is the oldest of the three of us and she's the shortest one!!! My younger brother is only one inch shy of the "average" height for men.
Hey, AOL---if you are going to put some "news" out for us to read, make sure that it's newsworthy and not some piece of fluff like this pile of crap is.

KATHY 9-13-2007 @ 3:14PM

THIS CANT BE TRUE I AM THE SECOND OF FOUR AND IM THE TALLEST..I HAVE TWO GIRLS AND THE SECOND CHILD IN HER 20S IS TALLER AS WELL...SO THERE

S-Chica 9-13-2007 @ 3:13PM

Oldest to youngest
Me-5'10"
Brother 6'2"
Sister 5'7"
Twins:
Sister 5'10"
Sister 5'10"

Melissa 9-13-2007 @ 3:19PM

I always thought it was the other way around.
I'm the middle daughter. My older sister is 5'7, I'm 5'10 and my little sister is like 5'10 1/2

Karen Ann 9-13-2007 @ 3:24PM

younger siblings were generally shorter than their older brothers and sisters? Not in my family. I'm oldest at 5'1" then brother at 6'1" and then sister at 5"6"

Leesa 9-13-2007 @ 3:35PM

All my friends and I have younger siblings who are much taller than us. My sister is three years younger and yet almost two inches taller. I also have an older sister who is taller than me. I don't think birth order has anything to do with height. At All.

Brian 9-13-2007 @ 3:37PM

I'd love a quick breakdown of all the factors they suggest are at work here. My older brother is a little shorter than I am, but we're also 7 years apart and were about the same height for a while.

Ker 9-13-2007 @ 3:42PM

Sounds as if the 'study' isn't correct based on others comments.

I agree. My younger sister is taller than me. Same with a few of my cousins/friends siblings.

Lisa 9-13-2007 @ 3:46PM

I definitely disagree with this survey. My younger brother is taller than I. My mother is the oldest - and shortest of 6. While my father and his siblings are all around the same height, his younger sister is actually taller than he is.

I have a friend who is the oldest of 4. Her youngest 2 siblings are taller than she and her sister.

4 different cases where your theory explodes.

lindsey 9-13-2007 @ 3:46PM

I have to disagree, I am the oldest and shortest of all of my siblings. I am a female so naturally I figured I'd be shorter than my brothers when they grew up but I am also 2 inches shorter than my younger sister.

Mary MM 9-13-2007 @ 3:51PM

I have 5 children and the last two are the tallest. My oldest son is 6ft 3, the next son is 6ft 2, my daughter is 5ft 6, the third son is 6 ft 4 and the youngest id six feet 6. So the theory of youngest being the shortest didn't happen in our family.
MMM

Drella 9-13-2007 @ 3:54PM

This study is flawed. I have 5 younger brothers and two younger sisters. ALL of them are taller than I am.
I am 5'4". My tallest brother is 6'0" and my shortest sibling is 5'6".

brett 9-13-2007 @ 3:56PM

this study is not meant to expain individual differences. it is meant to explain a trend just because your family doesn't exhibit these characteristics doesn't mean that this study is "a bunch of crap". And i'm pretty sure that this study is not meant to explain height differences between genders. Don't be so ignorant.

Val 9-13-2007 @ 7:18PM

My father was the youngest of 14 children. He was 6'10". His eldest sibling (a boy) was 5'6". To see a picture of them all (including the 6 girls) standing in a line in chronological order, they look like stairsteps.

carolyn ferrante 9-13-2007 @ 3:57PM

I agree with all the theories presented, and here's another: having an overbearing older sibling who, even as a youngster, cast a "dark" shadow over you (overshadowing your presence by their dominant presence) may stunt your physical as well as psychological growth. From, the short one