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Studies and clinical guidance show coffee does not stunt height growth.

The Claim

Coffee consumption stunts human growth (reduces height growth).

Verified by Lenz ·

The Short Version

Available evidence does not support the idea that drinking coffee reduces human height growth. Clinical guidance from major pediatric and medical sources treats this as a debunked myth, and studies in adolescents have not shown lower height growth from caffeine intake. Caffeine can still be a problem for children and teens because it can disrupt sleep and cause other health effects, but that is different from stunting height.

Caveats

  • This does not mean caffeine is harmless for children or teens; it can worsen sleep, anxiety, palpitations, and energy-drink-related risks.
  • Studies about maternal caffeine intake during pregnancy are a different question and cannot be used to show that a child drinking coffee will grow shorter.
  • Indirect effects such as poor sleep or poor nutrition may affect development, but that is not evidence that coffee itself directly reduces final height.

The Receipts

  1. Health Effects of Energy Drinks on Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults

    American Academy of Pediatrics / Pediatrics

  2. The Effects of Caffeine on Kids: A Parent's Guide

    HealthyChildren.org (American Academy of Pediatrics)

  3. Can Coffee Really Stunt Your Growth?

    Harvard Health Publishing

  4. Caffeine and Kids

    American Academy of Pediatrics

  5. Dietary caffeine intake is not correlated with adolescent bone gain

    PubMed

  6. Does Coffee Stunt Your Growth?

    Cleveland Clinic

  7. Energy Drinks and Caffeine

    American Academy of Pediatrics

  8. Caffeine Consumption in Children: Innocuous or Deleterious?

    Nutrients (via PubMed Central)

  9. Does Coffee Stunt Your Growth?

    WebMD

  10. The impact of caffeine on children’s health: A review

    Journal of Pediatric Nursing (Elsevier)

+ 17 more sources — see the full list on Lenz

Filed Under

caffeinecoffee

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