This version was machine-translated from German and has not been medically reviewed. The authoritative version is the German version.

Adult height (target height from parental height)

Expected adult height from parental and grandparental heights and the current body height – with probability range

Child

Sex

male female

Age

Current height (cm)

Measured standing, without shoes.

Parents

Mother’s height (cm)

Father’s height (cm)

Measured parental heights are better than reported ones: reported values are on average too high, and from middle adulthood onward height decreases again – the best-known systematic error of any target height calculation.

Grandparents (optional)

Maternal grandmother (cm)

Maternal grandfather (cm)

Paternal grandmother (cm)

Paternal grandfather (cm)

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Sources

Standards for children's height at ages 2–9 years allowing for height of parents (Arch Dis Child 45:755–762) Tanner JM, Goldstein H, Whitehouse RH, 1970. Original paper on target height from parental heights (mid-parental height)
Accurate Prediction of Children's Target Height from Their Mid-Parental Height (Children 11:916) Zeevi D, Ben Yehuda A, Nathan D, Zangen D, Kruglyak L, 2024. Review and improvement of the target height formula in 303 adult children from 23 large families
A chart to predict adult height from a child's current height (Ann Hum Biol 38:597–603) Cole TJ, Wright CM, 2011. Regression model for predicting adult height from current height, validated in the British birth cohorts 1946 and 1958
A century of trends in adult human height (eLife 5:e13410) NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC), 2016. Analysis of 1,472 population-based studies with 18.6 million participants from 200 countries
WHO Growth Reference: length/height for age (5–19 years) World Health Organization (WHO), 2007. Growth reference for school-age children and adolescents, basis of the percentiles of this calculator

Related calculators

Note

Calculation aid for healthcare professionals. Clinical assessment remains with the treating physician.

Review date of the German original: 2026-11-05 · Methodology

For parents (in German): Percentile calculator (kinderarzt.net)

Frequently asked questions

Adult height (target height from parental height): What does this calculator compute?

Prediction of adult height from the heights of parents and grandparents and the child's current height (2–18 years) using the quantitative genetics model: most likely final height, 50/80/95 % range, contribution of each input, comparison with the Tanner mid-parental target height, and placement of the current height on the WHO reference.

Adult height (target height from parental height): Which sources is this calculator based on?

Tanner JM, Goldstein H, Whitehouse RH: Standards for children's height at ages 2–9 years allowing for height of parents (Arch Dis Child 45:755–762) (1970); Zeevi D, Ben Yehuda A, Nathan D, Zangen D, Kruglyak L: Accurate Prediction of Children's Target Height from Their Mid-Parental Height (Children 11:916) (2024); Cole TJ, Wright CM: A chart to predict adult height from a child's current height (Ann Hum Biol 38:597–603) (2011); NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC): A century of trends in adult human height (eLife 5:e13410) (2016); World Health Organization (WHO): WHO Growth Reference: length/height for age (5–19 years) (2007)