What is it? 

Like nearly every human trait, disease or characteristic, your adult height is driven by the combined action of many genes and their interaction with the social and physical environment.   Scientists have identified variants in over 12,000 genes that influence height. The combination of these variants you inherit from your parents accounts for about 80% of the variation in height. This is why height appears to run in families.  Despite the strong genetic contribution, your “environment” can also influence your height. Poor nutrition early in life can reduce height while excellent nutrition can increase height.

Explore how genes and environment interact to influence height through this engaging interactive tool designed for students and educators. While the genetic influence on height is commonly emphasized, the environmental impact is sometimes harder to grasp. This digital simulation provides a visual and dynamic way to understand the interaction between genetic potential and environmental impact.

By turning two dials—one for genetic factors and one for environmental factors—users can explore how these elements combine to influence a person’s final height. The simulation illustrates this interaction using a figure that grows or shrinks depending on the chosen settings. This allows users to see that height is not determined by genes alone, but by a combination of both genetic makeup and environmental factors.

How it Works

Students can begin by adjusting either of the two available dials: one that represents genetic influence and another that represents environmental impact through diet. The genetic dial allows users to select a value between 100 and 10,000, which reflects varying levels of genetic potential for height. At the same time, the environmental dial offers three dietary options—“poor,” “good,” and “excellent”—to represent how nutrition can support or limit growth.

It's important for users to understand that while everyone has genes that contribute to their height, some individuals inherit genetic combinations that are more or less likely to lead to taller stature. Likewise, nutrition—an environmental factor—plays a critical role in helping individuals reach their genetic potential.

As users manipulate these settings, the central figure on the screen will grow or shrink based on the resulting height. At specific reference points—5'0", 5'7", 5'9", and 6'4"—users have the option to view a relevant historical figure who stood at that height. This feature helps contextualize the height changes with real-world examples. Height can be displayed in either imperial or metric units, depending on user preference.

Why Is This Important To Me? 

There are very few visual tools that clearly illustrate how genes and the environment work together to shape physical traits. By allowing users to experiment with genetic potential and diet, this interactive makes the science behind height more accessible and easier to understand. It shows that height is not solely determined at birth, but can also be influenced by environmental factors such as nutrition.

This interactive encourages a better understanding of human development and the many variables that influence it. It helps foster awareness that even traits often considered to be "genetically determined" can be shaped by external influences, promoting a more nuanced view of biology and human growth.

About the Creators

The Mental Health GxE Interactive was created by the education team at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), a leading authority in genomics research. This interactive may be reused, linked to, or referenced. Please credit the National Human Genome Research Institute.