Scientists have told whether coffee really inhibits the growth of children

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One of the reasons why coffee are not usually given to children, there is a widespread belief that the caffeinated drink can stunt the growth of children. But is it so? Experts conducted research to find out whether caffeine really affects the growing body of a child, and also explained what other factors should be paid attention to.

The answer is a resounding “no”: there is no evidence that coffee or caffeine inhibit growth and development in childhood. At the same time, human growth is largely determined by other factors. For example, hundreds of identified genes are responsible for about 16% of a person's height.

A child's overall health also plays a role. For example, repeated infection in childhood can slow down the assimilation of food and bone growth, writes Livescience. What's more, access to important nutritional elements such as milk in the early years also affects growth, as does the mother's diet during pregnancy, the study says.

Why do some people still believe that coffee can slow down the growth of the child? In the 1980s, several studies showed that regular coffee drinkers were at increased risk of osteoporosis because caffeine could increase calcium excretion (although the effect was small). If caffeine can weaken bones, then it's logical to assume that higher caffeine intake in childhood would lead to shorter growth.

However, it turns out there's another variable at play: coffee drinkers also tend to consume less milk, the main source calcium In other words, the cause of the problem was most likely not coffee, but a lack of calcium. Moreover, more recent studies have not found a link between osteoporosis and coffee consumption.