FALSE: Magnetic therapy insoles increase height

At a glance

• Claim: Magnetic therapy insoles increase height.
• Rating: FALSE
• The facts: Magnets have not been proven to promote bone growth or increase height.
• Why we fact-checked this: The video with this claim has 183 shares and more than 740,000 views.

Complete details

A Facebook page has been promoting the sale and use of magnetic acupuncture insoles. Their claim is that the use of magnetic insoles will increase height through “secondary development of bones.”

This claim is false. 

Magnets have not been proven to increase height. The documented use of magnets in medicine has largely been for the healing of fractures, and not to increase height. Even then, they were implanted within the body near the site of the fracture, and not as insoles. 

Genetics is the main determinant of height. This means that an individual’s height will roughly be around the height of her mother and father. The period of growth usually occurs during the growth spurt in puberty. 

When puberty ends, growth plates close, and we can expect the height to be the same for the remainder of an individual’s life. For girls, this usually occurs at the age of 13 to 15, and for boys, at the age of 15 to 17.   

Another component that affects height is poor nutrition, the frequency of getting sick, the use of some drugs, and even genetic diseases such as Marfan syndrome and Down syndrome. 

In the Philippines, it is estimated that 30% of children under the age of five are stunted, with some areas in the country with rates reaching up to 40%. This is largely attributed to undernutrition, poverty, and poor access to healthcare. – Renzo Arceta/Rappler.com

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