‘Magic’ vitamin gummies go viral for helping teenage boys grow four inches in months – experts give their verdict…

Experts have called for caution over a sugary vitamin pill that is gaining popularity among teenage boys on social media for its supposed ability to increase height.

The TruHeight supplements, which cost £33 and contain almost a teaspoon of sugar in a serving, are said to help teenagers ‘get bigger’ in thousands of TikTok videos.

In one laudatory statement, content creator Aaron Thomas told his 147,000 followers he grew four inches in just three months after he started taking TruHeight vitamins.

Another young social media user, Omar Naturecalled on his fellow “short kings” who “need to get bigger” to take Truheight, claiming the supplement is “magical” and “will help you get bigger.”

And Damon Brownwho has 659,000 followers, called the gummies one of “four ways to grow bigger,” along with being active, eating healthy and getting enough sleep.

The gummies contain calcium, vitamin K, vitamin D and the Asian shrub ashwagandha.

Advertisements for the brand, which sells growth gummies as well as sleep supplements and protein powders, show videos with testimonials from parents and teens who claim the vitamins helped them grow taller.

One of the brand’s TikTok videos shares a ‘origin story’ of a boy named Liam, who is said to have grown between six and six feet tall in a year and four months thanks to TruHeight.

A TikTok video posted by Aaron Thomas (left) told his 147,000 followers that your height is “20 percent your choice and 80 percent genetics.” He claims he was “very small three months ago,” but after learning about the TruHeight vitamins, he grew two to four inches taller. Damon Brown, who has 659,000 followers, listed the gummies (right) as one of “four ways to grow bigger,” along with being active, eating healthy and getting enough sleep.

But speaking to MailOnline, experts doubted the supposed effects.

Dietitian and spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association Aisling Pigott warned that the marketing is ‘highly misleading’.

She emphasizes that while there is evidence that vitamin D can support healthy bone growth, it won’t help you grow beyond your “high potential,” which is “predetermined by our genetics.”

And at £33 per bottle it’s also around six times the price of regular vitamin D supplements.

She told MailOnline: ‘Teenagers could be putting pressure on their parents to spend money on these vitamins, and that’s a shame.

‘Our height is predetermined by our genetics.

‘A poor diet can prevent us from growing as big as we could, but this supplement is not going to fix that.’

Ms Pigott said the supplements are unlikely 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 can be harmful and even weaken bones and damage the kidneys and heart.

TruHeight Growth gummies contain 20 micrograms per two gummy servings – so 10 gummies (or five servings of the recommended dose) could put you over the limit.

Social media user Dillon Latham (left) told his 1.6 million followers on TikTok that the gummies “contain the nutrients and things you need to help your bones grow.” In a video (right) from the supplement company advertising the growth gummies, a teenage boy is seen listing the vitamins with the caption “we buy TruHeight, we take TruHeight and we grow.”

This isn’t the first time the supplement company has been accused of “misleading” advertising.

The TruHeight brand is owned by Vanilla Chip, a company that has been involved in several lawsuits, including one filed April 2024 which alleged that TruHeight made “false and misleading advertising claims” about children’s growth.

The lawsuit alleged, “Vanilla Chip advertises that regular consumption of its growth products caused toddlers, children and teens to grow taller than they would without them.”

It added: ‘The growth products cannot deliver what they promise – a fact that Vanilla Chip knows or should have known. The Growth Products are not able to make children grow taller than they would on a normal diet.’

Although online videos suggest that the supplement will help children grow taller, the brand is careful not to explicitly state this.

Instead, the company uses terms like “support healthy growth and development” and “support normal bone growth and function.”

The supplement brand also has a clinical trials section on its website, stating that TruHeight has “put our growth innovations to the test.”

It states that after a six-month pilot clinical trial, children who took TruHeight daily had a ‘statistically significant increase in collagen

According to TruHeight, collagen

Ms Pigott warned that the supplement company is “walking a very fine line”.

She said: ‘They are following the rules but allowing misinformation to creep in because of the way it is presented.’

TruHeight has been contacted by MailOnline for comment.