Question

Hormones control the increase in the height of an adolescent and the final height attained. Do you agree? Give reasons.

Answer 1

Hormones control the way in which the height of an individual increases during adolescence. The sudden increase in the amount of growth hormone (GH) during adolescence leads to an abrupt increase in the height of an individual. However, the final height attained by an individual depends on the genes of an individual and not on the hormones. This is because genes determine the maximum possible height that can be attained by an individual and hormones only help in the expression of these genes. Thus, hormones do not regulate the final height attained by an individual.