‘Eating beans regularly won’t make children of short parents tall’

Nutritionists and paediatricians have said regular consumption of beans cannot make children born by short parents grow taller if such gene does not exist in their lineage.

They said though beans are primarily the cheapest source of protein and easily affordable body-building food, their regular consumption will not make an individual grow tall if such a person does not have the gene for tallness.

According to them, beans do not have a hormone that stimulates growth; rather, a child’s growth depends on a number of factors that include genetics, food, environment and availability.

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The experts further said no amount of beans consumption as a regular food staple will make a person who does not have the necessary nutrients and genetics for tallness to get taller and that excess consumption of it will only lead to farting and stomach upset.

Scientific American, Springer Nature, a German-British academic publishing company, estimated that about 60 to 80 percent of the difference in height between individuals is determined by genetic factors. In comparison, 20 to 40 percent are attributed to environmental effects, mainly nutrition.

Speaking against this backdrop, the experts, who spoke with PUNCH Healthwise, said eating beans alone will not make anyone tall. except it is complemented by other foods meant to make up for the absence of other nutrients in beans.

A Director of Nutrition Services and Health Education at the Osun State Primary Health Care Development Board, James Oloyede said in a society where people eat a lot of beans, there is a need to complement it with other foods to achieve results.

He said, “People think that regular consumption of beans will make children grow tall because it is a source of protein – a body-building food. Unfortunately, the consumption of animal protein, which is high in protein is limited in Nigeria, hence, beans become the most common and cheapest source of protein available to the masses.

“To clear this, beans do not have any growth factor or hormone that stimulates growth, rather, what affects the child’s growth more is environment and food availability. Beans alone will not make you grow tall except when taken alongside other foods.

“In this regard, what is lacking in beans can be found in maize and other foods. With this, the child gets enough nutrients comparable to his or her growth. This does not mean that eating too many beans will make someone who does not have the gene for tallness to grow tall.

“Let me also state that this notion that short parents can’t have tall children is not always true. What affects a child’s growth more is the food, apart from genetics. Two things affect a child’s growth – food environment and nutrition.

“For instance, if you place two children of the same mother in a separate environment, say, one in Nigeria and the other in America.

The one in America is most likely to grow taller because when you talk about the food environment, it has to do with food that exists in a particular environment that people eat, which might not be eaten in another locality.

“There might be some food with high nutrients in a particular environment that people eat but is not eaten in another locality. It may be a cultural thing and because parents don’t eat or give their children such food, the community will end up not eating such food despite its nutritive value.

“Of course, even when their body needs such food for optimal development, the children have to wait for their parents to give them such food. They will grow up not eating such food because they were never fed with it. Food eaten in one community may be avoided in another.”

A Consultant Paediatrician at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Kwara State, Dr. Bunmi Mokuolu said tallness is multi-factorial and the postulation that eating beans will make children grow tall is untrue.

According to her, protein-rich food like beans supports growth and development, but it is a puzzle when it comes to making people increase in height.

He said, “I have not seen any academic research or studies to support the claim. However, most people are tall for different reasons. Some are genetic and others may have other reasons to be tall but most times, the tallness is from genetic makeup and other medical factors.

“Some might be normal, while others are abnormal conditions. But regular bean consumption, to me, is more of a cultural postulation. I have seen people who don’t eat beans and they are tall. I have also seen others who eat beans, yet they are not tall.

“However, we know that beans are a good source of protein and carbohydrates. They are body-building food and not bone-building or strengthening food.”

According to a study titled, ‘Impact of Bean Consumption on Nutritional Outcomes amongst Adolescents’, authored by Ana Gomes and team, regular bean consumption can only improve body mass index and reduce cholesterol since beans are a plant-based protein but do not decide height.

The research published in the National Library of Medicine stated, “Our findings showed that dietary patterns with higher frequencies of bean consumption were associated with lower BMI values and lower values of %BF and LDL-c. The presence of beans in the diet at frequencies equal to or greater than five times per week can be considered a proxy for healthy eating.” Punch