Does gymnastics stop kids from growing taller? No, gymnastics itself does not directly stunt growth. The belief that it does is largely a myth. However, factors often associated with the intense training required for high-level gymnastics – like not eating enough to match the energy burned, or starting very hard training at a young age without proper support – can affect a child’s growth and puberty timing. Issues such as not getting enough calories (energy availability) or intense physical stress can impact hormones and the body’s growth centers (growth plates), potentially slowing things down temporarily or affecting final height if not managed well over many years.
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Dispelling a Common Belief
For a long time, people have thought gymnastics makes kids shorter. You might look at elite gymnasts and see many are small. This observation led to the idea that the sport somehow stops them from growing. But science tells a more complex story.
It’s not the flips, twists, or strength work that shrinks someone. Instead, if growth is affected, it’s usually because of other things tied to very demanding sports like high-level gymnastics. These things include how much a young athlete eats, how hard they train, and when their body starts going through puberty.
Fact vs. Fiction
Let’s clear the air about the main idea.
- Myth: Gymnastics makes you short.
- Fact: Gymnastics itself does not cause short stature. Genetics play the biggest role in how tall someone will be. Other things like nutrition, overall health, and training practices can influence growth patterns and timing, but the sport itself isn’t the direct cause of someone being short.
The Science of Growing Up
Kids grow because their bodies follow a natural plan set by their genes. This plan includes growth spurts, especially during puberty.
How Kids Get Taller
Growth happens mostly in the long bones of the arms and legs. At the ends of these bones are areas of soft, growing tissue called growth plates. New bone is made here, making the bone longer. These plates stay active until a child finishes growing, usually in their late teens or early twenties. Then, they harden into solid bone.
Chemical messengers called hormones control this process. Growth hormone (GH) from the brain is a main one. It tells the growth plates to make new bone. Another important hormone is IGF-1, made in the liver, which acts on the growth plates. Sex hormones (estrogen and testosterone), which increase a lot during puberty, also play a big role. They first speed up growth and then cause the growth plates to close.
The Role of Genes
How tall you will be is mostly decided before you are even born, by the genes you get from your parents. If your parents are tall, you are likely to be tall. If they are short, you are likely to be short. Gymnasts, especially at the elite level, are often naturally smaller people. Being lighter and shorter can be an advantage in some gymnastics moves, making it easier to rotate, balance, and control the body. So, it might be that naturally smaller people are more likely to succeed in gymnastics and stick with it, rather than the sport making them small.
Deciphering the Impact of Training
High-level gymnastics involves intense training. This means many hours in the gym each week, tough workouts, and pushing the body hard. For young athletes, this kind of training needs careful handling.
Training Load and the Body
Training is stress on the body. When training is right, the body gets stronger. Muscles grow, bones get denser, and fitness improves. This is good stress.
But too much training, or training without enough rest or fuel, can be bad stress. It can affect many body systems, including the ones that control growth and puberty.
Why Energy Matters So Much
One of the biggest factors that can affect a young gymnast’s growth is energy availability. This is a scientific way of saying if the body has enough energy left over after exercise to do all its other jobs, like growing, thinking, and keeping warm.
The Energy Balance
Every day, your body needs a certain amount of energy (calories) to live – to breathe, pump blood, and keep your organs working. This is your resting metabolic rate. On top of that, you need energy for daily activities like walking, sitting, and schoolwork. For an athlete, you also need a lot of energy for intense training.
Energy availability = (Energy intake from food) – (Energy used during exercise) – (Energy needed for daily life / lean body mass)
If a young athlete doesn’t eat enough calories to cover both their daily needs AND the huge amount of energy used in intense training, they have low energy availability.
The Body’s Response to Low Energy
When the body doesn’t have enough energy, it’s like a company without enough money. It has to cut back. The body cuts back on things that are not needed for immediate survival. Unfortunately, growth and reproduction (getting ready for puberty) are often the first things to slow down or stop.
This state of not having enough energy is a key part of something called RED-S (Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport). RED-S can affect many parts of the body:
- Hormones: It can lower levels of growth hormones, thyroid hormones (which control metabolism), and sex hormones.
- Growth: It can slow down the growth rate.
- Puberty: It can delay or stop the changes of puberty (
puberty timing). - Bones: It can hurt
bone density, making bones weaker over time. - Immune System: It can make athletes sick more often.
- Mental Health: It can affect mood and lead to feeling tired or irritable.
Grasping the Link to Puberty
Low energy availability and the stress of intense training can significantly affect puberty timing in young athletes.
Delayed Puberty
It’s quite common for female gymnasts training at high levels to start puberty later than their friends who are not athletes. This means their first period (menarche) might be delayed. For boys, puberty changes might also start later or move more slowly.
Why does this happen? The body sees low energy and high training stress as a signal that it’s not a good time to go through the big changes of puberty or to become ready to have children. It’s a survival mechanism. The hormones that kick off puberty are suppressed when the body is under too much stress or doesn’t have enough fuel.
How Delayed Puberty Connects to Height
Since a big part of getting taller happens during the puberty growth spurt, delaying puberty can mean this growth spurt starts later. Does this mean the person will be shorter in the end?
Not always. Often, athletes with delayed puberty will continue to grow for a longer time than their peers. Their growth plates stay open for a longer period because they haven’t been exposed to high levels of sex hormones yet, which cause the plates to close. So, they might catch up in height later.
However, in some cases, if the period of low energy availability or stress goes on for many years, or if it happens during a critical time for growth, it could potentially affect the final adult height. This is still a debated topic, and studies have shown different results.
Examining Growth Plates
Could intense training hurt growth plates directly?
Stress on the Plates
Growth plates are sensitive areas. Hard impacts, repetitive stress, or sudden injuries near a growth plate can cause problems. For example, a bad break through a growth plate might affect how the bone grows afterward.
In gymnastics, there are impacts, but the forces are usually spread out and controlled compared to, say, a fall from a height or a collision sport. Studies have looked at the growth plates of gymnasts.
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Findings: Most research suggests that well-managed gymnastics training does not cause damage to
growth platesthat leads to stunted growth. In fact, the weight-bearing and impact forces in gymnastics can be good for bone development, especially when there is enoughenergy availability. The body responds to controlled stress by making bones stronger and denser. -
Caveats: However, if an athlete has an untreated injury near a
growth plate, or if they are training intensely while severely under fueled (which makes them more prone to injury), then there could be a risk. But this is not a common outcome of typical, healthy gymnastics training.
Scrutinizing Height Studies
Many height studies have looked at gymnasts compared to other athletes or non-athletes. What do they show?
Looking at the Data
- Early Studies: Some older studies seemed to suggest gymnasts were shorter. However, these studies often looked only at elite gymnasts who were already naturally smaller and didn’t always compare them properly to their families’ heights or control for other factors like nutrition and training history.
- Later, Better Studies: More recent and well-designed
height studiesthat follow gymnasts over many years (longitudinal studies) and compare their adult height to their predicted genetic height (based on parents’ height) provide a clearer picture.- Some studies show that while gymnasts might be shorter during their training years due to delayed puberty and slower growth rate, they often reach their predicted adult height later.
- Other studies find no significant difference in final adult height between former gymnasts and control groups, once genetics are accounted for.
- Some research suggests that if there is a final height effect, it is small and most likely linked to factors like poor nutrition or prolonged low
energy availabilityrather than the training itself.
Factors Making Studies Tricky
It’s hard to do perfect height studies on young athletes in demanding sports.
- Self-Selection: Naturally smaller people might be more likely to stick with gymnastics. This makes the group of high-level gymnasts shorter from the start.
- Training Variance: Training intensity, nutrition, and coaching quality differ greatly between athletes and gyms.
- Long Time: Tracking growth from childhood to adulthood takes many years.
Overall, the scientific consensus from recent height studies leans towards the idea that while growth patterns and puberty timing can be affected during the years of intense training, the sport does not necessarily stunt final adult height, especially if athletes are well-nourished and healthy.
Deciphering the Impact on Bone Density
Intense exercise, particularly weight-bearing activity, is generally very good for bone density. It signals the bones to become stronger. Gymnastics involves a lot of weight-bearing moves, landings, and strength work.
Good News for Bones (Usually)
Most studies show that gymnasts have higher bone density than non-athletes or athletes in non-weight-bearing sports (like swimming) when they are training and even years after they stop. This suggests that the mechanical stress of gymnastics is beneficial for bone health.
When It’s Not So Good
However, here again, low energy availability is the problem. If a young gymnast doesn’t eat enough, their body won’t have the resources to build strong bones, even with the beneficial stress from training. Low energy availability also lowers levels of sex hormones, which are crucial for building bone density, especially during puberty.
So, while gymnastics can build great bones, it only happens if the athlete is properly fueled. Low energy and hormonal changes from under fueling can lead to lower bone density and an increased risk of stress fractures.
Fathoming Long-Term Effects
What about the long-term effects of high-level gymnastics training on former young athletes?
Height and Growth
As mentioned, most research suggests that for many, any delay in growth or puberty catches up, and they reach their predicted adult height. If there is a slight difference in final height, it seems more linked to chronic energy issues or genetics than the exercise itself.
Reproductive Health
For females, delayed menarche is common during intense training. For most, periods return to normal after reducing training load or stopping the sport. However, long periods of low energy availability and absent periods could have long-term effects on bone health and potentially fertility, though more research is needed on the latter. Supporting proper nutrition and energy intake is key to preventing these issues.
Bone Health
The higher bone density built during training can provide a benefit that lasts into adulthood, potentially reducing the risk of osteoporosis later in life. But, as noted, this benefit is lost if the athlete is under fueled for extended periods.
Overall Health
If managed well, intense training in gymnastics can lead to lifelong physical fitness, discipline, and mental toughness. However, if training involves extreme pressure, poor nutrition, or leads to frequent injuries or burnout, there can be negative long-term effects on physical and mental health.
Supporting Young Gymnasts Safely
Parents, coaches, and medical professionals play a vital role in making sure young athletes in gymnastics train in a way that supports their growth and health.
Keys to Healthy Training
- Proper Nutrition: Ensure the athlete eats enough calories and nutrients to fuel their training, daily life, and growth. This means focusing on a balanced diet with enough carbohydrates, protein, fats, vitamins, and minerals. Avoiding
nutritional deficienciesis critical. Work with a sports dietitian if needed. - Enough Rest: The body grows and repairs itself during rest. Athletes need adequate sleep and planned recovery time between
intense trainingsessions. - Monitor Growth: Regularly check height and weight. Changes in growth rate or sudden weight loss can be signs of low
energy availability. - Listen to the Body: Teach young athletes to pay attention to signs of fatigue, pain, or burnout.
- Balance Training Load: Coaches should plan training carefully, avoiding sudden large increases in hours or intensity. Build up gradually.
- Talk About Puberty: Parents and coaches should be aware of typical
puberty timingand know that delays can happen, but they shouldn’t be ignored. Talk to a doctor if concerned. - Focus on Health First: The athlete’s long-term health and well-being should always be the top priority over performance.
Deciphering Signs of Low Energy Availability
It’s important to spot the signs that a young gymnast might not be getting enough fuel for their intense training.
- Feeling tired all the time
- Losing weight unintentionally
- Periods stopping or never starting by the expected age (
puberty timing) - Getting sick often
- Getting injured often, especially stress fractures (related to poor
bone density) - Feeling cold all the time
- Changes in mood or increased irritability
- Trouble sleeping
If you see these signs in a young athlete, it’s time to look at their eating habits, training load, and get advice from a doctor or sports dietitian. Addressing nutritional deficiencies and improving energy availability are crucial for healthy growth and development.
Summary Table: Myths vs. Facts
| Area | Myth | Fact |
|---|---|---|
| Growth | Gymnastics makes you short. | Gymnastics itself doesn’t stunt growth. Genetics are key. Factors like low energy availability can impact growth rate or timing. |
| Puberty | Gymnastics delays puberty. | Intense training can delay puberty timing, especially with low energy availability. This is often temporary. |
| Growth Plates | Gymnastics training damages growth plates. |
Intense training doesn’t typically damage growth plates in a way that stunts growth. It can even improve bone density. Risks exist with severe under fueling or injury. |
| Final Height | Gymnasts end up shorter than they would be. | Many gymnasts reach their predicted adult height, even with delayed growth during training. Any small height difference is likely complex, involving genetics and nutrition. |
| Bone Health | Gymnastics is bad for bones. | Gymnastics is usually good for bone density because it’s weight-bearing. However, low energy availability harms bone health. |
| Cause | The flips/skills stop growth. | Issues like not eating enough (nutritional deficiencies, low energy availability), not resting, or overtraining are the factors linked to growth impacts, not the sport moves themselves. |
FAQ Section
Does doing gymnastics as a child mean I will be shorter as an adult?
Based on current height studies, probably not. While intense training can affect your growth rate and when you go through puberty while you are training, most research suggests that for many athletes, this evens out, and they reach their genetically predicted adult height. Your final height is mostly determined by your genes.
Can intense sports training really affect puberty?
Yes, intense training in any sport, including gymnastics, especially when combined with not eating enough calories to match the energy burned (low energy availability), can delay puberty timing. This is because the body’s hormone signals for puberty can be suppressed under physical or energetic stress.
Are growth plate injuries common in gymnastics?
Injuries can happen in gymnastics, including near growth plates. However, regular, well-managed gymnastics training itself doesn’t typically cause damage to growth plates that stunts growth. The impact forces in gymnastics, when done safely, are often good for bone health. Serious growth issues from growth plates are usually due to bad injuries or chronic, severe stress from things like very low energy availability.
How can I tell if my child’s growth is being affected by training?
Look for signs like growth slowing down noticeably compared to peers, weight loss, constant fatigue, getting sick often, or girls not starting their period by the expected age. Talking to their doctor and tracking their growth on a growth chart can help spot any concerns early. Making sure they eat enough and get enough rest is crucial.
Is it true that smaller people are just better at gymnastics?
Being smaller and lighter can offer biomechanical advantages in certain gymnastics skills like rotating fast or doing flips. This means that people who are naturally smaller might be more likely to stick with the sport and reach elite levels. So, the smaller size of some top gymnasts might be more about who is drawn to and succeeds in the sport (self-selection) than the sport making them smaller.
What are the most important things for a young gymnast’s health and growth?
The most important things are ensuring they get enough to eat to fuel their training and growth (energy availability), get enough rest, and train smartly to avoid injury. Avoiding nutritional deficiencies is key. Regular check-ups with a doctor who understands young athletes can also help monitor their growth and overall health.