Eight tips to support teen growth and development during adolescence.

During the teen years, young adults want to grow. Some want to be taller. Others want to be bigger. In fact, some teens want to know how to spark a growth spurt and will try just about anything to optimize this process.

As a childhood nutrition expert, this question of maximal growth (AKA, height), comes up often. I wrote one of my most popular blog posts to help teens and their parents understand what happens during the teenage growth spurt.

This article is a follow-up to help you support teen growth and physical development in healthful ways. 

I will cover the following ways you can best support the teen during their growth spurt:

1. Ensure young people get enough sleep
2. Encourage plenty of nutritious food to meet nutritional needs
3. Avoid to many sweets and treats
4. Eat protein for healthy growth, but not too much
5. Focus on calcium intake and vitamin D
6. Build healthy eating patterns
7. Snack on healthy foods 
8. Promote physical activities

Then, I’ll answer your burning questions about getting taller!

8 Healthy Ways to Support the Teen Who is Growing 

There’s a lot going on in the teenage years. From physical changes to brain development and social development, most teens worry about how tall they will grow or whether they have a healthy weight. Many parents worry about emotional changes and the mental health of their teenager.

Although the social-emotional development of the teen is very important, I will be focusing on physical development and nutrition. Here are 8 important ways to help your teen grow to his or her full adult height during the adolescent years.

Get Enough Deep Sleep

All teens need at least 8 ½ to 9 hours of sleep per night, according to the National Sleep Foundation. During deep sleep, human growth hormone circulates at its peak, helping the body grow.

In fact, studies have shown that if sleep is delayed, the release of growth hormone is also delayed, potentially reducing the body’s overall exposure to it.

Ironically, it’s challenging for teens to get enough sleep. During puberty, the circadian rhythm changes and leads to a shift in the sleep-wake cycle. What happens? Many teens go to bed late and can’t get up early.

Unfortunately, with the rest of the world operating on an early sleep-wake cycle, teens can get behind and miss out on sleep, which may affect their growth.

How to Promote Enough Sleep

• Get regular physical activity
• Get outside during the day. Sunlight exposure helps regulate circadian rhythm.
• Turn off screens an hour before bedtime.
• Avoid caffeine after mid-day

Eat a Nutritious Diet

Obviously, I am going to sing the praises of proper nutrition and a variety of foods! Teens are notorious for getting off course with nutrition, eating more fast food, processed food, and sweets.

This is in part related to their developmental stage and budding independence. However, good nutrition is essential to meeting their nutritional needs and promoting optimal growth and development.

Remember, during puberty, calorie and nutrient requirements are at the highest level during the entire life span. You want to make sure the food going into your teen’s body is mostly healthy stuff.

• A balanced diet includes all 5 food groups from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA): protein, fruit, vegetables, whole grains and dairy (or a non-dairy substitute)
• Don’t skip meals. Teens who skip often miss important nutrients like iron.
• Make fruits and vegetables readily available and “junk” food less so

Unfortunately, there aren’t any special foods that help with growth, however, there’s always this question:

Does Milk Make You Taller?

Milk is a powerhouse of nutrients, including those important for growth like protein, and the bone-growing nutrients of calcium and vitamin D. Keeping milk in your daily routine is a good (and easy) way to ensure teenagers get these important nutrients.

Avoid Eating Too Many Sweets, Treats, and Salty Food

Watch out for too many nutrient-poor foods, like sweets and treats and other foods that contain few nutrients. They carry a lot of calories, but are low in nutrients like iron and calcium.

• Use my simple rule called the 90:10 Rule. It separates food into categories, keeping the “growing” foods (nutrient-rich food groups as outlined above) at 90% of overall consumption, while curtailing the less-than-healthy items such as sweets and treats to a mere 10% of total intake.

This is not a hard and fast rule about food, but a way for parents and teens to visualize the food balance that will best support overall health and growth.

Get Enough Protein…But Not Too Much

Of all the major nutrients, protein is the most important one for growth. Your teen doesn’t need to pig out on protein—but real sources of protein such as eggs, lean meats, fish, poultry, nuts, nut butters, seeds, and more (instead of protein powders), are beneficial for height growth, appetite regulation, and overall health.

• Most teens in their growth spurt need at least a ½ gram of protein per pound of body weight.
• More than 1 gram per pound of body weight doesn’t seem to make a difference in growth and may be associated with dehydration.

[Read: 8 High Protein Breakfasts for Teens]

Focus on Calcium and vitamin D

The growth of the bones, particularly the long bones in the legs and arms, show up in your child’s height. Calcium and vitamin D are the bone-forming nutrients that encourage bone density. 

Unfortunately, many teens do not get enough calcium or vitamin D in their diet, particularly during puberty! You can help this by paying attention to sources of calcium and vitamin D in the diet.

• From milk products to leafy green veggies, there are a lot of options from which to choose. 
• Dairy products that contain both calcium and vitamin D work together to encourage bone growth and solidify them so they are healthy and strong.

My calcium e-book can help you pick the right food sources and target enough throughout the growth spurt.

Build Healthy Eating Patterns

Teens may have eating patterns that interfere with good nutrition. Skipping meals, for one, is pretty common, and this can lead to too much hunger and overeating later in the day.

All teens should try to eat three meals per day without skipping—even a light meal, such as a smoothie or a banana, is better than skipping altogether. Ideally, spread out your teen’s food intake evenly throughout the day, timing meals rhythmically, every 3 to 5 hours.

Short Stature: What Stunts Growth?

Under-eating both calories and nutrients can rob the body of what it needs to grow optimally. Also, not getting enough protein in the diet is associated with poor linear (height) growth. This is something to pay attention to if you’re a vegetarian, have an eating disorder, or are very picky.

If your teen is underweight or a slow weight gainer, start offering a healthy bedtime snack. It can provide a few extra calories that won’t be burned off during the day’s activities.

Curb Snacking

Because teens may eat erratically, they make up for skipped meals or delayed eating with snacking. This can lead to undesirable food choices, and even overeating.

I ask all my teen clients to be thoughtful and strategic with snack choices. To give you an idea of what I classify as “healthy snacks,” check out my list of 85 below…that’s a list of snacks that will last you over 12 weeks! 

Download
85+ Healthy Snacks for Teens!

Promote Regular Exercise

I’ve heard some pretty crazy statements, like “basketball makes you grow taller because jumping helps stretch the body…”

Personally, I haven’t seen any evidence or research of this, but I have heard the {tall} tales. I do think activity helps, like team sports, because it keeps the body’s engine (metabolism) humming along, and supports a good appetite…which can spur better eating.

Everything You Want to Know About Getting Taller as a Teen

Here are some of the questions I get about the teen growth spurt:

Does Testosterone Make You Taller?

During puberty, yes, testosterone helps with growing taller. However, once you’ve reached your full height, additional testosterone likely won’t change how tall you are, or spur additional growth.

Does Losing Weight Make You Taller?

Losing weight itself doesn’t actually make you taller, but it can give the appearance that you’ve grown because you may look leaner.

Which Foods Make You Taller?

In theory, all foods can make you taller, mostly due to the energy they provide. But protein, especially, has been linked to improved linear growth, according to a 2022 study in Nutrients that looked at nutrition and its effects on height growth. This is because the amino acids found in protein foods promote proper growth, especially height.

We know that when children don’t get enough calories, macronutrients (carbohydrate, fat, protein), or micronutrients, they don’t grow well. Although we don’t see this commonly in the U.S., studies in under-developed countries highlight the importance of nutrition on growth.

Protein and amino acids are the main nutrients involved in height growth. They promote tissue growth and increase the levels of hormones that prompt the growth spurt.

Zinc has been hypothesized as a stimulator of growth. When it’s deficient, growth may be impaired. However, studies looking at zinc supplementation in children with growth failure have been inconclusive.

Vitamin D supplementation hasn’t been shown to affect linear growth, however, when paired with calcium supplementation, it has prompted height growth in adolescent boys.

Vitamin A has also been the topic of research. It shows a positive influence on linear growth in children over age two.

Last, a multi-micronutrient supplement approach, like a multi-vitamin and mineral supplement, rather than a single nutrient, seems to have better results for children and teens when it comes to growing taller.

When Do the Growth Plates Close?

Toward the end of puberty, the growth plates close. For girls, this is around age 13 to 15 and for boys, it’s around age 15 to 17. At this point, bones have hardened completely and final growth is achieved. 

Does Exercise Make You Taller?

There are rumors circulating that if you participate in exercise you can shape the outcomes of your growth. Unfortunately, there’s no best exercise for height increases. 

In fact, there is no scientific evidence that basketball, yoga asanas and mountain pose, or hanging from a bar or an inversion table will affect your height. 

Perhaps exercising your core muscles will improve bad posture and help you stand up taller, but making sure you’re living a healthy lifestyle, eating a healthy diet, and sleeping well are the best bets for supporting maximum height.

Resources for Feeding the Teen

• Tune into my podcast, The Nourished Child, where you can find free information about teen nutrition and feeding them.
• Read 10 Foods Young Athletes Should Eat and 8 High Protein Breakfasts for the Teenager.
• Be sure to visit our store for additional resources, and check out our podcast episodes!

Jill Castle, MS, RD

I like empowering parents to help their children and teens thrive at every size with realistic advice centered on healthful habits around food, feeding, nutrition and health behaviors. As a pediatric dietitian and author, my goal is to share strategies and realistic advice to help you raise a healthy and happy child through my articles and podcast.

This article was updated on March 26, 2025.