Are Wide Hip Bones Genetic?

“Are wide hip bones genetic?”

That’s another question I get quite a lot and in this quick post I will do my best to answer it.

To do so, I first need to define:

1) The period where your bones grow.

2) The difference between hip bone growth as a result of your genetics (nature) or as a result of your environment (nurture).

1) The Period Where Your Bones Grow

Usually, most of your bone growth happens during puberty (age 13-18).

After that you will still keep growing into your mid 20s, but for the most part bones don’t grow much once you’re out of puberty, so we will assume that your hip bones develop from age 13-18 and are set in stone at around age 20.

2) The Difference Between Genetics (Nature) and Environment (Nurture)

Genetics mean that you have developed wide hip bones during puberty because of your parents and not because of the lifestyle choices you have made throughout childhood and puberty.

In this case, the two most important lifestyle factors are diet and exercise.

In other words, the point of this post is to discuss whether diet and exercise during childhood and puberty can have a significant effect on your bone development, or if genetics are 100% responsible for your bone structure.

Genetics Do Affect Bone Structure

If environment (nurture) alone determined your bone structure, you wouldn’t see ripped guys with wide shoulders and narrow hips eating candy and junk food everyday while partying their ass off throughout high school.

The truth is that genetics largely determine how your body structure will be.

A good example is me and my little brother (we have different fathers, thus different genetics):

After puberty was done I had narrow shoulders, wide hips, small hands, a skinny-fat physique and I was weak as hell. I could barely bench 66lbs. for 5 reps at age 17-18.

In contrast, my little brother is 16 and still going through puberty and has ended up with massive hands, wide shoulders and he could bench 100lbs. for 20 reps the first time I took him to the gym (age 15).

Did he do any kind of training to achieve this strength? No, he was a sedentary teenager playing playstation all day eating a sedentary teenager diet.

In other words, hip bone growth during puberty is genetic just like most other things related to your appearance, but that doesn’t mean we cannot influence it…

How Diet and Hormones Affect Hip Bone Growth During Puberty

I believe that hormones are key in determining the way your body develops.

Plenty of adult men have raised their testosterone levels through diet and exercise, and thereby seen life-changing effects such as:

>> 10-30lbs. more muscle mass.

>> Phenomenal performance in bed.

>> High sex drive.

>> More confidence and aggression. (Aggression can be good if you direct it properly).

>> More drive to dramatically improve their career or business.

So, if testosterone can do all these things to a grown man, why wouldn’t it be able to affect the way your body develops through puberty?

Put a kid on a high testosterone diet through puberty, and you will see that not only does he feel better but he will look a lot better too.

Be proud but stay hungry,

Oskar Faarkrog, ISSA Certified Personal Trainer

 

    Read my free 50 page guide "The 2 Phases of a Skinny-Fat Transformation"