Does more vitamin D make you taller?
Causal relationship between vitamin D and adult height: A bidirectional Mendelian randomization study
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Despite strong observational links between low vitamin D and short stature, this study proves the relationship is causal—but only in a minuscule way.
People assume low vitamin D causes stunted growth, and this confirms it—but the effect is so small it’s clinically irrelevant. The surprise is that even a confirmed causal link is almost meaningless in practice.
Practical Takeaways
If you're concerned about your child's growth, get their vitamin D levels checked—but only supplement if they're deficient, not to 'maximize height.'
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Despite strong observational links between low vitamin D and short stature, this study proves the relationship is causal—but only in a minuscule way.
People assume low vitamin D causes stunted growth, and this confirms it—but the effect is so small it’s clinically irrelevant. The surprise is that even a confirmed causal link is almost meaningless in practice.
Practical Takeaways
If you're concerned about your child's growth, get their vitamin D levels checked—but only supplement if they're deficient, not to 'maximize height.'
Publication
Journal
Medicine
Year
2025
Authors
Lianhui Chen, Min Wu, Zhenzhong Zeng, Xiaohao Hu, Yongfen Wang
Related Content
Claims (10)
People who naturally have more vitamin D in their blood tend to be taller as adults, and this link comes from our genes—not because vitamin D makes you grow taller, but because the same genes that affect vitamin D also affect how tall you get.
People who naturally have more vitamin D in their blood tend to be a tiny bit taller as adults—like a small nudge in height—not much, but it’s a real pattern scientists noticed.
If you already have enough vitamin D, taking more won’t make you significantly taller — the tiny boost you might see is too small to matter in real life.
People with certain inherited gene differences that affect how their body uses vitamin D tend to be taller or shorter as adults, which suggests that having the right amount of vitamin D over a lifetime might help bones grow better than taking vitamin D pills for a short time.
Being tall doesn’t make your vitamin D levels lower — it just looks that way because taller people might spend less time in the sun, weigh more, or have different lifestyles that affect vitamin D. The real cause isn’t height itself.