Nikhil Prasad Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team Jun 19, 2026 1 hour, 18 minutes ago
Medical News: A new Vietnamese study is generating excitement among parents and health experts after finding that long-term supplementation with vitamin K2 may help children achieve greater height growth over time. Researchers discovered that children who consistently received menaquinone-7 (MK-7), a highly bioavailable form of vitamin K2, showed progressively greater gains in height compared to children who did not receive the supplement, with the strongest effects observed in boys before puberty.
Researchers found that long-term vitamin K2 supplementation was linked to greater height gains in children, especially
pre-pubertal boys
The study was conducted by researchers from Hanoi Medical University, Midu MenaQ7 Joint Stock Company, Vietlife General Clinic, Mirai General Clinic, the Department of Physical Education at Hanoi Medical University, Duy Tan University, the Institute for Global Health Innovations at Duy Tan University, the Institute for Advanced Study in Technology at Ton Duc Thang University, and the Faculty of Pharmacy at Ton Duc Thang University, Vietnam.
Why Researchers Investigated Vitamin K2
Height growth in children is influenced by genetics, nutrition, sleep quality, physical activity, overall health, and bone development. While vitamin D and calcium are widely recognized for supporting healthy bones, vitamin K2 has recently attracted increasing scientific interest because of its role in directing calcium into bones where it is needed most.
MK-7 is considered the most effective form of vitamin K2 due to its longer half-life and superior bioavailability. It activates proteins such as osteocalcin, which plays a vital role in bone mineralization and skeletal development. Despite these known biological functions, very few studies have examined whether vitamin K2 can directly influence height growth in healthy children.
To address this knowledge gap, researchers followed 1,150 healthy children aged between 6 and 14 years in Hanoi between 2022 and 2025. Of these, 537 children received a daily MK-7 supplement while 613 children served as controls.
Long-Term Supplementation Produced the Most Noticeable Results
Researchers collected an impressive 3,491 height measurements during the study period and analyzed how height changed over time.
One of the most important findings was that MK-7 supplementation did not produce an immediate growth effect. Instead, its potential benefits became increasingly visible with longer periods of use.
During the first three months, children in the control group actually recorded slightly greater height gains. However, the pattern began to shift after several months.
Between seven and nine months of follow-up, children receiving MK-7 gained an average of 5.26 centimeters compared to 4.38 centimeters among children who did not receive supplementation. The difference continued to widen with time.
After more than twelve months, children taking MK-7 gained an average of 9.88 centimeters in height, while children in the control group gained approximately 8.03 centimeters. Researchers noted that these differences became more pronounced the
longer supplementation continued.
Growth Velocity Improved Over Time
The study also examined growth velocity, which measures how quickly children gain height each month.
Although growth velocity naturally slows as children age, those receiving MK-7 demonstrated a consistent advantage after approximately seven months of supplementation. Their monthly growth rates remained slightly but consistently higher than those observed in the control group.
According to the researchers, this suggests that vitamin K2 may gradually support bone development rather than triggering rapid short-term growth spurts.
Boys Appeared to Benefit More Than Girls
Perhaps the most intriguing finding was the difference between boys and girls. When researchers analyzed the data by sex and developmental stage, they found the strongest associations among pre-pubertal boys. Boys receiving MK-7 showed significantly greater rates of height gain over time compared to boys who did not receive supplementation.
Girls also experienced normal growth, but the statistical relationship between MK-7 supplementation and increased height gain was not as strong.
Scientists believe differences in hormonal development, skeletal maturation, and growth timing between boys and girls may explain this observation, although further research will be required to confirm the reasons behind these differences.
This
Medical News report notes that the findings suggest vitamin K2 may play a previously underappreciated role in supporting healthy childhood growth, particularly during critical periods of skeletal development.
How Vitamin K2 May Influence Growth
The biological explanation appears plausible. Bone growth depends on a continuous process of mineralization and remodeling. Vitamin K2 activates proteins that help bind calcium within the bone matrix, supporting stronger and healthier bone formation.
Researchers believe that prolonged activation of these bone-building proteins may gradually enhance skeletal development, resulting in greater cumulative height gains over extended periods.
Importantly, the children in the study received 360 micrograms of MK-7 daily, a dosage considered safe based on previous research. No major safety concerns were reported.
Conclusion
The findings from this large observational study suggest that continuous supplementation with MK-7 vitamin K2 may be associated with greater height growth in children over time, particularly among boys before puberty. Rather than producing immediate effects, the benefits appeared to accumulate gradually and became more noticeable after several months of consistent use. The study adds to growing evidence that vitamin K2 plays an important role in bone health and skeletal development. However, because the research was observational and not a randomized clinical trial, the findings cannot prove that vitamin K2 directly causes children to grow taller. Additional large-scale clinical studies are needed to determine whether MK-7 supplementation can reliably enhance growth and to identify which children are most likely to benefit from long-term supplementation.
The study findings were published in the peer reviewed journal: Nutrients.
https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/18/12/1979
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