I am a seventeen-year-old male and my height is 5'6". Can I reach 5'8" or 5'9"?

To determine if you can reach a height of 5'8" or 5'9" (which is approximately 172.7 cm or 175.3 cm, respectively), you need to consider your current age, height, and the typical growth patterns for males.

Using the World Health Organization's (WHO) growth charts for boys aged 5 to 19 years, here are some key points:

• At 17 years old, most boys have nearly reached their full adult height. The growth rate significantly slows down after the age of 16.

Here are the height percentiles for a 17-year-old male from the WHO chart:

• 50th percentile (average height): Approximately 174.0 cm (5'8.5")1.
• 95th percentile: Approximately 187.1 cm, but this is well above the average and not relevant for your specific question1.

Given that you are currently 5'6" (167.64 cm), which is below the 50th percentile for your age, here are a few considerations:

• Growth potential: At 17, the majority of your growth spurt would have already occurred. However, some individuals may still experience a small amount of growth.
• Height increase: To reach 5'8" (172.7 cm), you would need to grow about 5 cm (2 inches), and to reach 5'9" (175.3 cm), you would need to grow about 7.7 cm (3 inches).

While it is not impossible to grow a bit more, the likelihood of growing an additional 2-3 inches at your age is relatively low. Most boys stop growing significantly by the age of 16-17, so any additional growth would be minimal.

In summary, while there is a small possibility of some additional growth, reaching 5'8" or 5'9" at your current age is unlikely.