68 replies to this topic

[Shepard]

Yes and look at Danny DeVito

Exactly, look at Danny DeVito. Anyone remember what Rhea Perlman looks like?

[VictorBjoerk]

What's the thing about Rhea Perlman?

However I was quite shocked to see that there existed such a great business for leg lengthening. http://www.betzinsti....com/why_bi.htm

I like the commercials "we help you reach new heights" and "increase your height,change your life"

Apparently there is quite common to go abroad and change your height and come back a year later or so.....

It sounds horrible painful anyhow but apparently people have lengthened well over 10 cm on femur as well as tibia... It must look very disproportional and odd,I wonder about the performance and everyday function later......

[Heliotrope]

i'd like to think there're more advantages to being tall than short. controlling all factors, women would prefer the taller guy a bit more.

FunkOdessey said that "Definitely, and considering how size variation within a given species is often inversely associated with longevity, I would not be surprised if it applied to us as well. Makes me wonder how long I'll be able to hang in there at 6'6". There are tradeoffs in everything. "


but is it true that shorter people tend to live longer than taller people, assuming everthing else (including weight, health, wealth ) being equal ? How can that be? what's the biological reason?

i'm 6'2 and i'm happy w/ current height, but never outgrew my dad who's like 6'4. my mom's 5'9 or so (not sure, somewhere btw 5'7, 5'10). both my dad and i have bad backs, and i got a not too straight, curved scoliosis back due to bad posture , bad study habits, and carrying all those 40 pound school bags. I wonder if i get my back treated, spinal disks adjusted , legs straightened (sadly i think i'm a bit slightly bowl-legged wtf? though i'm long-legged, most of my height is def in legs), get some hormones and/or body-lengthening machines ), i'd be 6'4 or taller than my dad. i don't think i'd like to be that tall, not very comfortable as i tend to hunch a bit when meeting shorter people, felt standing out ... , just concerned with back problems

Edited by HYP86, 15 June 2008 - 12:57 AM.

[VictorBjoerk]

Increased longevity of shorter, smaller people
An early paper illustrating the greater longevity of shorter people appeared in the Bulletin of the World Health Organization in 1992. Since then we have presented substantial findings showing that shorter, smaller people live longer. The reason for this is that bigger bodies have more cells and these cells are subject to replacement due to wear or damage. Hayflick pointed out many years ago that most human body cells have limited capacity for duplication. Since bigger people require a larger number of duplications to reach maturity, they have fewer potential cell doublings left to replace defective or dead cells. Thus, the functional capability of vital organs declines with advanced age because damaged cells can't be replaced. A new study also showed that oxidative damage to cells increases at a higher rate with increasing height; e.g., an 18% increase in height leads to an 83% increase in cellular damage. Current gerontological thinking is that oxidative damage leads to aging and death.
A few years ago, a comprehensive study of about 300 height and cancer papers, concluded that taller people had a 20 to 60% higher incidence of cancer compared to shorter people. More recently, breast, testicular, and prostate cancer studies found taller women and men suffered from substantially higher cancer rates.

Short people are not immune to death from heart disease, cancer, and other causes. Failure to control diet, physical inactivity, overweight, depression, and anger can lead to serious health problems. Therefore, poor health and mental practices can lead to reduced longevity for people of any height.


I don't know if this is nonsense or if there is any truth in it, maybe people with more knowledge about this can answer that...

Anyhow if you are extremely tall due to overproduction of growth hormone you are condemned to die early.....But that's very rare

[Ghostrider]

Why do women always seem to prefer tall men,what are the advantages of being tall? I'm wondering from an evolutionary perspective...

Well, women probably feel safer (from physical attack, rape, etc.) when around a bigger guy. So bigger has been associated with safer for a very long time. I don't think that applies very much in today's world, however, the height prejudice is probably now tied in with perception. I can see how one could reason that overall taller people carry better genetics. One could think that short and small people are so due to lack of food or nourishment. Or since women have preferred taller men for so long, it gets tied into social status. The more selective women will choose taller men. Today, I think that's how it is. Most status-oriented women prefer bigger houses even if they don't need all the space, it's about status. The other part is that a lot of women like to feel physically dominated or submissive or as Shania Twain described "like a women"...the man makes her feel that way. I think there is some truth to this. In high school, a couple of tallest women in my class, 5'11" and 6'0" were almost hostile to me, at the time, I was the same size as I am now. I was never mean to them and I don't think I did anything to offend them, but it's almost like I offended them by being smaller than they. Like I challenged there femenine qualities by my relative size. I can't say for sure, but I think a lot of women, probably most, base their femanine qualities partly by relation to their husband or boyfriend. So yeah, I agree with mind, my lack of size / weight may be my most limiting factor even over my height. Although in the winter I can cover that up by wearing extra layers of clothing, thick sweaters, etc.

[Ghostrider]

i'm 6'2 and i'm happy w/ current height, but never outgrew my dad who's like 6'4. my mom's 5'9 or so (not sure, somewhere btw 5'7, 5'10). both my dad and i have bad backs, and i got a not too straight, curved scoliosis back due to bad posture , bad study habits, and carrying all those 40 pound school bags. I wonder if i get my back treated, spinal disks adjusted , legs straightened (sadly i think i'm a bit slightly bowl-legged wtf? though i'm long-legged, most of my height is def in legs), get some hormones and/or body-lengthening machines ), i'd be 6'4 or taller than my dad. i don't think i'd like to be that tall, not very comfortable as i tend to hunch a bit when meeting shorter people, felt standing out ... , just concerned with back problems

Hehe, you wish you were 6'4", I'll take 5'10". I think the ideal height (in regards to pop culture) is probably 6' 0" to 6'3", that the model height range. And yes, the curved back will affect your height. My uncle had scoliosis as well, when he was in high school, they stuck a metal bar in his back and put him in a body cast to straighten out his spine. It sounded horrible, but he ended up at 6'2". His brother is 6'4" and the doctors said that if he had not had scoliosis, he would have been equally or slightly taller than his brother.

[Heliotrope]

as a reply to above post, yeah like i suspected , my scoliosis likely affected a couple of inches on my height, darn it, never reached my full potential!

it's not that i really really wanted to be 6'4 anyway. i too thought the male's ideal height would be somewhere around 6 feet to 6 feet 2, and not sure a bit taller would make me happier. but just the pure health consequences, aching and crackling back (i can make these painful spine-crackling sounds , darn them, 20 times more hurtful than cracking my fingers or popping my fists!), and knowing what i missed out on makes me sad. i could have been so much more ... knowing what i could've been, aww curses! i'm not as worried about my dating life being handicapped because i'm pretty fit, okay looking, quite a bit taller than average. I agree w/ what mind said earlier tho, appearance shouldn't matter that much, there're far more important things like education, career, intelligence, health, wealth, humor, personality etc etc.

but ghostrider, if two of your uncles are well above 6'2" , and so if you have fairly good genes and adequate diet , then it doesn't seem very likely that your generation should end up shorter than the previous generation. All my uncles that are related to me by blood are at least 5'10, and even some that are by marriage (fictitive kins) are very tall since my biological aunts are tall too (at least for Asian females) and they seem to prefer taller guys , just like most women probably feel "safer" if their guy is taller

Edited by HYP86, 15 June 2008 - 02:28 AM.

[Ghostrider]

as a reply to above post, yeah like i suspected , my scoliosis likely affected a couple of inches on my height, darn it, never reached my full potential!

it's not that i really really wanted to be 6'4 anyway. i too thought the male's ideal height would be somewhere around 6 feet to 6 feet 2, and not sure a bit taller would make me happier. but just the pure health consequences, aching and crackling back (i can make these painful spine-crackling sounds , darn them, 20 times more hurtful than cracking my fingers or popping my fists!), and knowing what i missed out on makes me sad. i could have been so much more ... knowing what i could've been, aww curses! i'm not as worried about my dating life being handicapped because i'm pretty fit, okay looking, quite a bit taller than average. I agree w/ what mind said earlier tho, appearance shouldn't matter that much, there're far more important things like education, career, intelligence, health, wealth, humor, personality etc etc.

but ghostrider, if two of your uncles are well above 6'2" , and so if you have fairly good genes and adequate diet , then it doesn't seem very likely that your generation should end up shorter than the previous generation. All my uncles that are related to me by blood are at least 5'10, and even some that are by marriage (fictitive kins) are very tall since my biological aunts are tall too (at least for Asian females) and they seem to prefer taller guys , just like most women probably feel "safer" if their guy is taller

There's probably a mixture of reasons for why most women prefer taller guys. If I had to pin it down, I would say the two most important are in western culture are: 1) social status (my guy is taller than yours), 2) desire for a physically taller mate (someone to look up to, literally). Among the lower classes, safety might be a reason, but middle and upper class males don't usually fight. If that were the case, women would be attracted to NRA members, police officers, and military guys.

Regardless, height still is pretty important. It's funny how on eHarmony, when I receive a new match notification by e-mail, the only two physical characteristics that I see are age and height. If I click on the match, even as a paying member, I cannot see what weight they listed or even their body type. So they too must feel that I would be willing to accept someone weighing 3 times my weight (assuming everything else was perfect), but the height could totally ruin any relationship.

Here's another perfect example (don's ask how I stumbled upon it, I don't normally read this crap):
http://today.msnbc.m...om/id/24018252/

Interesting poll, where's the poll of:
Would you date someone of a different race than you?

Lesson of life: Some forms of prejudice are tolerated.

[Ghostrider]

Still not over the height issue...thinking (have not planned, just researching) of doing leg lengthening by internal nail:

http://www.betzinstitute.com/

Does anyone see any health consequences with doing this? Assuming that the lengthening is kept under 7.6 cm on the femur? I am concerned about how it might turn out in later age.

[tunt01]

good luck trying to exercise and run on those legs for the next 50+ years.

[manofsan]

I read a survey that said on average, taller people end up making more money than shorter people.
For each extra inch in height, they earned $10K more, on average.

Haha, maybe they included professional athletes in the survey, I don't know. But apparently there are more tall people in managerial roles than than shorter people. Maybe being taller gives a person a psychological edge over the shorter person.

Anyway, if somebody comes up with a way to use stem cells to increase height, then I'm sure they'd have a huge lineup at their door. Meanwhile, I'd take a life-extension increase over a height increase any day. Besides, once medical science conquers the height barrier, then what's to prevent everyone from going this route? Society will eventually be filled up with ever taller people - a strange and bizarre prospect.

Edited by manofsan, 10 April 2009 - 03:31 AM.

[Skötkonung]

Don't worry about your height. Unless you are trying to date runway models, I think you'll find most women are 5'7" or below in height (the average being around 5'5 to 5'6 in most countries). If you were to take the equivalent time and money involved in having leg lengthening surgery and invest it in building a more attractive personality (through humor, intelligence, and wit), better personal style, and a fitter body, I bet you would have better luck with the ladies than if you went with height alone. I also imagine you would save a considerable amount of money and avoid quite a bit of pain. If you are really self conscious about it, avoid wearing flats. A good shoe can make you 5'8. If you start dating a woman and she notices your shoes have a slight lift, I doubt she would care if the rest of you was okay.

Besides dating women your own height is fun! Where I live, there are many tall women. My previous girlfriend was 5'11" and I enjoyed being able to look eye to eye with her. The girl I am dating now is 5'3 and I often feel like a giant when I am around her. I can only imagine how much more awkward it would be if the disparity were greater.

Interestingly, I found weight lifting has made me shorter. When I started lifting weights about six years ago, I was about 6'1 tall. Now I am 5'11.5. However, if I take a break from the weights, I get my height back. I imagine all the squats and dead lifts are compressing my spine.

[Ghostrider]

[quote]I read a survey that said on average, taller people end up making more money than shorter people.
For each extra inch in height, they earned $10K more, on average.[/quote]

As an engineer, I really don't think height will give me any edge. My manager is about 4" shorter than me (female). Also, most people where I work are foreign and often shorter. For other jobs, I can see how it could make a difference.

[quote]Haha, maybe they included professional athletes in the survey, I don't know. But apparently there are more tall people in managerial roles than than shorter people. Maybe being taller gives a person a psychological edge over the shorter person.[/quote]

I would feel more confident in some social settings if I was taller. Confidence can be gained in other ways as well (Neil Strauss).

[QUOTE]
Anyway, if somebody comes up with a way to use stem cells to increase height, then I'm sure they'd have a huge lineup at their door. Meanwhile, I'd take a life-extension increase over a height increase any day. Besides, once medical science conquers the height barrier, then what's to prevent everyone from going this route? Society will eventually be filled up with ever taller people - a strange and bizarre prospect.
[QUOTE]

I think the opposite would happen. Height is used as a general indicator of genetic / nutritional quality along with other factors such as body type, facial features, etc. However, if people can "fake" natural height, then it becomes kinda pointless. Women would probably just say, ok, just give me 5'10" to 6'2", any taller and things become awkward. From personal experience, I actually like being the same height as the girl that I am dating. I find it more intimate and like seeing eye-to-eye. Although, I have found many of the girls that I have been interested in have wanted taller guys :-(...although that's kinda hard to tell, they might not have been interested for other reasons and the height was easier than saying "I find you to be a very boring person".

Edited by Ghostrider, 10 April 2009 - 04:27 AM.

[Ghostrider]

Besides dating women your own height is fun! Where I live, there are many tall women. My previous girlfriend was 5'11" and I enjoyed being able to look eye to eye with her. The girl I am dating now is 5'3 and I often feel like a giant when I am around her. I can only imagine how much more awkward it would be if the disparity were greater.

I mentioned that in my post above, I agree, it's my preference as well...

Interestingly, I found weight lifting has made me shorter. When I started lifting weights about six years ago, I was about 6'1 tall. Now I am 5'11.5. However, if I take a break from the weights, I get my height back. I imagine all the squats and dead lifts are compressing my spine.

That's a pretty significant different, 1.5 inches. I have always stayed away from squats and dead lifts for that reason. I have been focusing only on upper body.

Regarding the leg lengthening, I realized that I am probably too scared of surgeries. It would make me too uncomfortable knowing that I had pins going through my legs or a nail holding two bones together. I understand why people do it though and wish I had exercised / ate more in my teenage years to better promote growth. Kinda feels like I lost something that I can't get back. I am hoping that there is some breakthrough which would simplify the surgery / shorten the recovery time. At the end of the day, I would not want to sacrifice my health / longevity.

[Skötkonung]

Regarding the leg lengthening, I realized that I am probably too scared of surgeries. It would make me too uncomfortable knowing that I had pins going through my legs or a nail holding two bones together. I understand why people do it though and wish I had exercised / ate more in my teenage years to better promote growth. Kinda feels like I lost something that I can't get back. I am hoping that there is some breakthrough which would simplify the surgery / shorten the recovery time. At the end of the day, I would not want to sacrifice my health / longevity.

What has spurred your interest in self improvement? I saw your other thread about weight lifting awhile ago.

There will always be things about ourselves we don't like. If you don't learn to make peace with who you are and you went through with a leg lengthening surgery, you would probably just come to dislike something else about yourself. Perhaps that is why some people end up having so many plastic surgeries.

I think you are doing the right thing by working out (even if you aren't lifting legs much - just make sure you don't end up looking like a stork!). You are improving yourself in a reasonable and healthy way. At the end of the day, I think women are most attracted to health and confidence. Both of which you will have if you make peace with some of things you cant change and continue to take a interest in fitness and longevity.

[tunt01]

focus on what matters.

[Ghostrider]

What has spurred your interest in self improvement? I saw your other thread about weight lifting awhile ago.

Just a general desire to become better, I have always had this. Longevity, live healthier, cognitive enhancement, education, wealth, social network, etc.

There will always be things about ourselves we don't like. If you don't learn to make peace with who you are and you went through with a leg lengthening surgery, you would probably just come to dislike something else about yourself. Perhaps that is why some people end up having so many plastic surgeries.

That might be true, but at the moment, the only part of my appearance that bothers me is height. Weightlifting is just being done to enhance my appearance and because I believe it is also healthy / improves self image, but being skinny or un-muscular is definitely not something that bothers me.

[TonyD]

There's lots of things you can do to appear taller, at least.. Like wearing height increasing shoes, wearing clothes with stripes or just making sure your bakc is straight at all times.. If you're still growing there's even some exercises you can do.. I've heard swimming helps, hanging, etcetcetc.. Recommended reading: How to Gain Height.

[Ghostrider]

There's lots of things you can do to appear taller, at least.. Like wearing height increasing shoes, wearing clothes with stripes or just making sure your bakc is straight at all times.. If you're still growing there's even some exercises you can do.. I've heard swimming helps, hanging, etcetcetc.. Recommended reading: How to Gain Height.

There's no way to gain significant height aside from leg lengthening surgery. Certainly not by reading a book unless the book says something like, "Get your limbs lengthened". As I mentioned above, I considered it, but don't think it's worth the pain / health risk quite yet...maybe I will change my mind with time. It's probably the most painful surgery someone can endure. Although gaining 1 inch of height per month does sound very impressive. I am hoping the alternatives get better with time. If I can live long enough to live indefinitely, height will eventually become a non-issue.

[Steve_86]

I think women look for a dominant man who makes them feel secure. When the woman is the taller one her man seems less dominant?

Maybe women are more shallow than males

[Heliotrope]

There's lots of things you can do to appear taller, at least.. Like wearing height increasing shoes, wearing clothes with stripes or just making sure your bakc is straight at all times.. If you're still growing there's even some exercises you can do.. I've heard swimming helps, hanging, etcetcetc.. Recommended reading: How to Gain Height.

There's no way to gain significant height aside from leg lengthening surgery. Certainly not by reading a book unless the book says something like, "Get your limbs lengthened". As I mentioned above, I considered it, but don't think it's worth the pain / health risk quite yet...maybe I will change my mind with time. It's probably the most painful surgery someone can endure. Although gaining 1 inch of height per month does sound very impressive. I am hoping the alternatives get better with time. If I can live long enough to live indefinitely, height will eventually become a non-issue.

Just reading a book won't make you taller, if you're way past puberty. It may or may not be the most painful surgery someone can endure. There is a "penis-lengthening" surgery that takes a similar principle, and can increase penis shaft length, or girth of etc. I saw on TV one man complained his penis is only 5 and a quater inches, and went under the surgery to make it six inches long.


but wont you be bedridden and need long times to recover, maybe even scars. Maybe nanotech, nanobots, and future meds can help you, some advanced technology

[hullcrush]

Although reproductive success (protection) has already been discussed, I think it's important to show that height has a positive correlation with IQ. I don't remember seeing very many science majors that were tall, though. I wonder where they go...

Edited by hullcrush, 14 April 2009 - 07:12 PM.

[Ghostrider]

but wont you be bedridden and need long times to recover, maybe even scars. Maybe nanotech, nanobots, and future meds can help you, some advanced technology

In one form of the surgery (internal nail), the patients can walk the day following the surgery. Some patients go home after 10 days and lengthen there. If the femur is lengthened, the scar is minimal, but it's about 3 months of pain ranging from mild discomfort to severe pain. The benefit though is about 1 inch of height per month, which would be pretty cool. It's hard to predict how much pain one will feel. If it was just a matter of money and not pain / recovery time (about $75k for the surgery), I would definitely do it. What scared me away is that some patients are using morphine as pain killers. That's some pretty severe pain.

[air90]

Check this out.

"Lengthening can be carried out painlessly at home, even while lounging on the sofa", "clinical tests will begin as soon as 2010", sounds promising.

http://www.scienceda...90415074843.htm

Edited by air90, 18 April 2009 - 09:30 PM.

[Steve_86]

but wont you be bedridden and need long times to recover, maybe even scars. Maybe nanotech, nanobots, and future meds can help you, some advanced technology

In one form of the surgery (internal nail), the patients can walk the day following the surgery. Some patients go home after 10 days and lengthen there. If the femur is lengthened, the scar is minimal, but it's about 3 months of pain ranging from mild discomfort to severe pain. The benefit though is about 1 inch of height per month, which would be pretty cool. It's hard to predict how much pain one will feel. If it was just a matter of money and not pain / recovery time (about $75k for the surgery), I would definitely do it. What scared me away is that some patients are using morphine as pain killers. That's some pretty severe pain.

Fark... What do you do to have that sort of money available to spend on surgery? :o

[Heliotrope]

like ppl posted, there ARE ( or will be) better techs in the pipeline. They may become cheaper and less painful than driving nails thru legs or cut your bones.

btw, like Steve, want to know what do you do to have that sort of money to throw in the surgery? Unless you're filthy rich or think the risks are worth the evidence/results, couldn't $75,000$ be better spent...? Unless you've a hot girl to snatch and the good-catch won't ... unless you're tall.

[Ghostrider]

like ppl posted, there ARE ( or will be) better techs in the pipeline. They may become cheaper and less painful than driving nails thru legs or cut your bones.

btw, like Steve, want to know what do you do to have that sort of money to throw in the surgery? Unless you're filthy rich or think the risks are worth the evidence/results, couldn't $75,000$ be better spent...? Unless you've a hot girl to snatch and the good-catch won't ... unless you're tall.

I can wait a while, but I do feel like my dating pool is smaller, ok, I know it is, question is how much smaller, due to my height. Have you ever developed a crush on a taller girl, thought there might be a chance, and then get rejected by her? Sure there were reasons other than height, but many girls will not date guys who are not at least 3 inches taller. Probably most girls can accept same height for the right guy, some may even accept an inch shorter if the guy is otherwise attractive and built well. But if you have ever wanted something, and then not be able to get it due to some physical characteristic that you had very little control over, yeah, it will develop a complex. There are other benefits to being tall, I believe it improves self esteem. The issue here really is not about height exclusively. That's the big issue for me, but for other guys it could be other aspects of physical appearance. Point is, we are all or most of us are here because we want to change something that we feel we have too little control over -- the aging process. Some guys don't want to be limited by aging, some don't want to be limited by height, some don't want to be limited by "x". Some guys here spend $20k / year on supplements. Does $75k for a few inches of height really seem that unreasonable by comparison? I think it can open up a lot of opportunites, beyond dating, it translates to confidence and how other people preceive you. Also HYP, I think you mentioned you are about 6'2". You take your height for granted just as I take not being overweight or able to see for granted. If you were to be 5'7" for a year, I think you would understand why one would spend $75k for a few inches. It's not the money though, it's the pain that is holding me back. Hell, if the procedure was painless, I'd rob a bank for the $75k if I had to.

I am a software engineer and that amount of money is about 2-3 years of savings after living expenses and taxes. I am not filthy rich and I am actually pretty frugal except when it comes to self-improvement. I will definitely be standing in line for all escape-velocity "cures" when they become available, pretty much ignoring the cost.

[lunarsolarpower]

There will always be things about ourselves we don't like. If you don't learn to make peace with who you are and you went through with a leg lengthening surgery, you would probably just come to dislike something else about yourself. Perhaps that is why some people end up having so many plastic surgeries.

I really disagree with this. The tabloids love to dwell on how Michael Jackson keeps getting his nose done over again but the fact is most people who understand the limitations of the techniques can experience long term satisfaction after undergoing fairly significant cosmetic and structural surgical procedures. Also I don't think people are going to do the yo yo diet thing with height changes. If so I guess we could call them pogo people. I know I'm grateful for every inch I have (5' 11") when I visit my distant relatives who are between 5' and 5' 2".

[Heliotrope]

like ppl posted, there ARE ( or will be) better techs in the pipeline. They may become cheaper and less painful than driving nails thru legs or cut your bones.

btw, like Steve, want to know what do you do to have that sort of money to throw in the surgery? Unless you're filthy rich or think the risks are worth the evidence/results, couldn't $75,000$ be better spent...? Unless you've a hot girl to snatch and the good-catch won't ... unless you're tall.

I can wait a while, but I do feel like my dating pool is smaller, ok, I know it is, question is how much smaller, due to my height. Have you ever developed a crush on a taller girl, thought there might be a chance, and then get rejected by her? Sure there were reasons other than height, but many girls will not date guys who are not at least 3 inches taller. Probably most girls can accept same height for the right guy, some may even accept an inch shorter if the guy is otherwise attractive and built well. But if you have ever wanted something, and then not be able to get it due to some physical characteristic that you had very little control over, yeah, it will develop a complex. There are other benefits to being tall, I believe it improves self esteem. The issue here really is not about height exclusively. That's the big issue for me, but for other guys it could be other aspects of physical appearance. Point is, we are all or most of us are here because we want to change something that we feel we have too little control over -- the aging process. Some guys don't want to be limited by aging, some don't want to be limited by height, some don't want to be limited by "x". Some guys here spend $20k / year on supplements. Does $75k for a few inches of height really seem that unreasonable by comparison? I think it can open up a lot of opportunites, beyond dating, it translates to confidence and how other people preceive you. Also HYP, I think you mentioned you are about 6'2". You take your height for granted just as I take not being overweight or able to see for granted. If you were to be 5'7" for a year, I think you would understand why one would spend $75k for a few inches. It's not the money though, it's the pain that is holding me back. Hell, if the procedure was painless, I'd rob a bank for the $75k if I had to.

I am a software engineer and that amount of money is about 2-3 years of savings after living expenses and taxes. I am not filthy rich and I am actually pretty frugal except when it comes to self-improvement. I will definitely be standing in line for all escape-velocity "cures" when they become available, pretty much ignoring the cost.

yes we're here b/c we need to change something. We're hoping for the change. your mind and heart seem to be in the right place. I wish you can increase in height by inches, I know you can do it one way or another. Just don't do it solely because of dating girls. I know it'll help you in other areas much more than that too, so looks like ~worthy cause.

[VictorBjoerk]

overcoming our limitations forced upon us by the nature and flukes is something I see as positive and that is the spirit of this forum.
So self-improvements by "unnatural" means is a good thing.
If Ghostrider wants to gain height through leg-lengthening surgery we should not discourage him. In reality ,by evidence there are little long-term risks of doing this procedure, the major problem is the pain. The pain seems to be manageable for most people doing it, it isn't comparable to cancer pain or any such thing.

It doesn't mean you will find other things that you don't like with yourself. And if there are more things you don't like why not fix them too

Femurs seem to be the best thing if you are doing only one segment, that means you take longer steps when walking, also it looks more proportional especially on men. That's my opinion.

It seems fatalistic to not go ahead and doing something about your height if you think it's worth going through such a procedure. It would not be good to spend all coming years being unhappy with your height.