--- title: Height Genes Double in New Research description: The latest analysis doubles the number of genes connected to height canonical: https://time.com/3462490/new-genes-found-that-determine-your-height/ author: Alice Park article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-10-05T22:40:33.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T10:35:18.286Z article:section: Health og:title: New Genes Found that Determine Your Height og:description: The latest analysis doubles the number of genes connected to height og:url: https://time.com/3462490/new-genes-found-that-determine-your-height/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: New Genes Found that Determine Your Height twitter:description: The latest analysis doubles the number of genes connected to height twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # New Genes Found that Determine Your Height > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=676c1e9c-ff21-4ef9-a2b9-317c86e4c64d&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1)  by [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Senior Correspondent Oct 5, 2014 10:40 PM UTC  by [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Senior Correspondent Oct 5, 2014 10:40 PM UTC How tall you are is strongly related to the genes you inherit, and previous studies suggested that as much as 80% of the variance in height among people is due to their DNA. And in the largest genetic study of height-related genes to date, scientists involved in the appropriately titled GIANT consortium (Genetic Investigation of Anthropometric Traits) identified 423 genetic regions connected to height — which could explain as much as 60% of that genetic component. Dr. Joel Hirschhorn, leader of the GIANT consortium at Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School and the Broad Institute of MIT says that for a trait like height, which isn’t determined by a single gene but likely the combined effects of multiple genes involved in multiple different processes from bone growth to cell growth, the new findings are like finding biggest nuggets of gold in a riverbed. The latest analysis, published in the journal _Nature Genetics_, describes the gene variants most commonly shared among people (not the rare mutations) that likely contribute to height. They emerged from a sweep of the genomes of more than 250,000 people of various heights, and from correlating their stature with their genetics. Many of the known and familiar factors related to height, including those dealing with skeletal growth and collagen that are mutated in people with medically short stature, for example, appeared in the study, confirming their role in determining how tall people get. But there were also some surprises — genetic regions that previous had never been thought to be related to height, including a gene known to be involved in cell growth but not in skeletal functions. “It’s a mix ranging from completely known things, to those that make sense to things that are completely surprising and things we don’t even know what to think about them,” says Hirschhorn. What the group has identified are gene regions of interest, and a new round of studies will have to delve deeper into those areas to isolate specific genes — and the proteins they make, such as growth factors, enzymes, or other agents — that are actually responsible for determining height. But it’s a critical first step, and could lead to potential new ways of treating medical conditions of short stature or gigantism that can have health negative health effects on the heart and joints. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3462490/new-genes-found-that-determine-your-height/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3462490/new-genes-found-that-determine-your-height/"},"headline":"New Genes Found that Determine Your Height","datePublished":"2014-10-05T22:40:33.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T10:35:18.286Z","description":"The latest analysis doubles the number of genes connected to height","url":"https://time.com/3462490/new-genes-found-that-determine-your-height/","keywords":["medicine","Genetics","Genes"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alice Park","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/alice-park/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/medicine/","name":"medicine"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3462490/new-genes-found-that-determine-your-height/","name":"New Genes Found that Determine Your Height"}}]}] ```