Experts have urged caution about a sugary vitamin pill that’s gaining popularity among teenage boys on social media for its supposed ability to boost height.
The TruHeight supplements, which cost £33 and contain almost a teaspoon of sugar in a serving, are said, in thousands of TikTok videos to help teens ‘grow taller’.
In one rave claim, content creator Aaron Thomas told his 147,000 followers that he grew four inches in just three months after he started taking TruHeight vitamins.
Another young social media user, Omar Natour, called on his fellow ‘short kings’ who ‘need to get taller’ to take Truheight, claiming the supplement is ‘magic’ and ‘will help you grow taller’.
And Damon Brown, who has 659,000 followers, listed the gummies as one of ‘four ways to grow taller’, alongside being active, eating healthily and getting plenty of sleep.
The gummies contain calcium, vitamin K, vitamin D and the asian shrub ashwagandha.
Adverts for the brand, which as well as growth gummies, sell sleep supplements and protein powders, show videos of testimonials from parents and teenagers claiming the vitamins helped them grow taller.
One of the brand’s TikTok videos shares an ‘origin story’ of a boy called Liam, who is said to have from 5ft to 5ft 8inches in a year and four months thanks to TruHeight.
But speaking to MailOnline, experts were dubious about the supposed effects.
Dietician and spokesperson from the British Dietetic Association Aisling Pigott warned the marketing is ‘very misleading’.
She stresses that while there is evidence supplementing vitamin D can support healthy bone growth it won’t help you grow taller than your ‘high potential’ which is ‘predetermined by our genetics’.
And at £33 a bottle it is also about six times the price of regular vitamin D supplements.
She told MailOnline: ‘Teenagers might put pressure on their parents to spend money on these vitamins and it’s a waste.
‘Our height is predetermined by our genetics.
‘A a poor diet can stop us growing as tall as we might have done, but this supplement isn’t going to help remedy that.’
Ms Pigott said the supplements aren’t likely to be harmful — unless you take excessive amounts.
According to the NHS 10 micrograms a day is enough to reap the bone-strengthening benefits of vitamin D, but taking more than 100 micrograms a day could be harmful and can actually weaken the bones, damage the kidneys and the heart.
TruHeight Growth gummies contain 20 micrograms per two gummy serving — so 10 gummies (or five servings of the recommended dose) could take you over the limit.
This isn’t the first time the supplement company has been called out for ‘misleading’ advertising.
The brand TruHeight is owned by Vanilla Chip, a firm that has been involved in several lawsuits, including one filed in April 2024 that alleged TruHeight made ‘false and misleading advertising claims’ about growth in kids.
The Lawsuit claimed: ‘Vanilla Chip advertises that regular consumption of its growth products made toddlers, childen, and teenagers grow taller than they would without them.’
It added: ‘The growth products cannot deliver what they promise — a fact Vanilla Chip knows or should have known. The Growth Products are incapable of causing children to grow taller than they would with an ordinary diet.’
Although videos online suggest the supplement will help children grow taller, the brand is careful not to explicitly state this.
Instead, the company uses language such as ‘support healthy growth and development’ and ‘supports normal bone growth and function.’
The supplements brand also has a clinical trials section on its website that says TruHeight ‘put our growth innovations to the test.’
It states that that after a six-month clinical pilot trial children who took TruHeight daily had a ‘statistically significant increase in collagen X’ compared to those who didn’t take the supplement.
According to TruHeight, collagen X is a ‘critical biomarker closely linked to the activity in the growth plates of developing bones.’
Ms Pigott warned the supplement company is ‘treading a really fine line’.
She said: ‘They’re sticking to the rules, but letting some misinformation creep in with how it’s being presented.’
TruHeight has been contacted by MailOnline for comment.
