What will you do to grow a few centimeters taller? For some Koreans, the answer may be to spend a lot of money on vitamins, using medicinal herbs containing antlers
A girl is checked at TallnFit center (Korea) with programs to help short children grow taller. Photo: Straits Times
The South Korean population has grown taller at an astonishing rate over the past century, compared to the rest of the world. worldAccording to research from Imperial College London (UK), Korean women increased their height by 20,2 cm and men by 15,2 cm between 1914 and 2014. The global average growth rate during the same period was 7,62 cm.
The average height of Koreans today is 159,6 cm for women and 172,5 cm for men. The remarkable growth rate has been linked to significant improvements in people's nutrition and health. However, the constant efforts of a part of the population to become taller in recent times have also contributed to this growth.
According to the IQVIA Drug Market Research Institute, the Korean growth hormone market has nearly doubled in four years, from 4 billion won ($126,2 million) in 96,1 to 2018 billion won in 237,2. .
According to a report by the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in January, sales of height-related supplements increased tenfold during the same period. The height trend is not unique to Korea, however, the obsession is especially evident in this country for those who actively pursue height.
Create a foundation from a young age
“My second child is not short but also not tall, so I want to go to a clinic and if possible I will treat him with growth hormone. As a parent, I feel a responsibility to do my best to help my child succeed," a mother of two, surnamed Noh, told Korea JoongAng Daily as she left a clinic in central Seoul. .
Ms. Lee Hyun-su, who is also in the same clinic as her 9-year-old son, said: “There is only a very short period of time for children to still grow, and I want to do what I can for them. Boy". Lee Hyun-su said her son is about 2 cm shorter than the average in his age group.
According to the Health Insurance Review and Evaluation Service, 43.618 South Korean children went to the hospital because of their short stature in 2021, up 22,6% from the previous year. Since 2016, this number has doubled. The net number is expected to be much higher because many families opt to go to private clinics that are not required to register with the Health Insurance Review and Review Service.
Growth clinics monitor a child's developmental path and check for height abnormalities or growth disorders. The most common treatment for short children is growth hormone injections. At Oriental Medicine-based clinics, doctors often recommend herbs and acupuncture.
Growth hormone injections, which are especially popular among parents of pre-pubescent children, cost about 10 million won a year, and treatments are usually given for about five to six years. Insurance medical Coverage is only available to children whose height is in the bottom 3% for their age and who have been diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency or growth disorder.
A 10th grader, surnamed Hong, said she had been given growth hormone injections "nightly into her legs, arms and abdomen" from the age of 10 to 15. Hong was born slightly below average and he is currently 171 cm tall – just 1 cm shorter than the national average.
A mother surnamed Kim lives in Australia but still comes to Korea twice a year to give growth hormone injections to her 2 children, now 9 and 8 years old. She said: 'My children are short of unknown cause (ISS) but it is very difficult to find a doctor in Australia who prescribes injections. Short stature of unknown origin is a term that describes a condition of limited height with no underlying cause. It is medically benign and is not classified as a growth disorder.
Ms. Kim knows that there is a risk of not having a doctor check up on the children, especially since hormone injections can lead to many side effects, such as high blood pressure and joint pain. Her first daughter has grown about 10 centimeters a year since her first injection in 2019. “It's hard to give up now, especially after watching my second son being pushed and teased. at school because of her short stature,” said Ms. Kim
Social stigma
Social prejudice about height, also known as height discrimination, was first publicly acknowledged in South Korea in 2009 when a female guest on the station's "Global Talk Show" KBS shared that by her standards, all men under 1m tall are "losers". More than 80 people have filed through the Press Arbitration Committee asking KBS to pay damages of 200 billion won.
In a 2016 survey by Opensurvery, more than 50% of 500 participants between the ages of 9 and 16 and their parents responded that height is an important part of life. The reason given was that 38% said it was to increase confidence; 27,4% said that because of social acceptance; 20,9% consider height important for dating.
An employee at marriage counseling firm Gayeon shared, “Height is a definite factor that many of our clients consider when choosing their future life partner. Female customers tend to consider height more. Both male and female clients have very specific height restrictions. For example, men want a suitable person at least 160 cm tall and women want someone over 170 cm tall.”
Over the past two decades, height has become increasingly seen as an ideal trait. K-pop idols seen as beauty icons are getting taller and taller, with many taller than the national average.
The negative effect of low height affects men more strongly than women. Men shorter than 1m are called kijaknam, a derogatory term for short men.
Last resort: leg lengthening surgery
Social pressures about height can cause some people to take drastic measures like surgery to lengthen their legs. This is a high-risk procedure that involves breaking both femurs and subsequent difficult recovery. "The worst case scenario, the patient may not be able to walk anymore," said surgeon Lee Dong-hoon in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. Dr. Lee Dong-hoon performs about 300 leg lengthening surgeries every year.
The cost of leg lengthening surgery can range from 40 million won to 80 million won. It takes about seven months for the patient to fully recover.
The Italian surgeon Alessandro Codivilla (1861–1912) first wrote about leg lengthening in 1905. The field of leg lengthening further developed in the 1980s when the Ilizarov method, using a pin-like brace. type to regenerate, reshape or lengthen bones, invented by Russian surgeon Gavriil Ilizarov (1921-1992).
If performed successfully, this surgery can increase the patient's height by 6 cm or even 18 cm.
However, Dr. Lee Dong-hoon insists that leg lengthening is a dangerous surgery with significant side effects if done in the wrong way or exhausting recovery time even when done successfully, so it needs to be “carefully considered.”
Professor Lim In-sook at Korea University commented: “Instead of spending so much of our time and resources on something that will never be satisfied, it is important to remember that looks are only is a small part of what makes a person truly beautiful.”
According to News
