Youngsters and teens often ask these days if it is possible to grow taller after puberty? If you want to know the answer to this question, you should first understand what puberty actually is. From wikipedia:
Puberty is the process of physical changes by which a child’s body becomes an adult body capable of reproduction.
Therefore the important factor in this case is the onset of capability of reproduction. What does this have to do with growth? Well, during puberty growth hormones are especially active and this is when children experience the biggest height increase. Usually puberty ends at about age of 17, however bones for men continue to grow even until 25. Only at that age one could say that a boys body is fully formed. This is not a wives tale as well. From my personal experience, a doctor advised me to postpone jaw surgery until age of 25, since that is when bones have fully formed. After all, even wisdom teeth fully come out about that time.
Can you grow taller after puberty? Absolutely. From personal experience most guys continue growing until age 18-20. Some stop growing faster, some grow well into their twenties. Girls mature faster, therefore stop growing about age of 16-17. There are, of course, exceptions.
Conclusion: Puberty definitely plays an important role in growth and height increase, but you can still grow taller after puberty.
