Luckily, there's a professor who has studied our exact rude question.

“The evidence is not clear at all,” said Dr. Robert M. Malina, professor emeritus in the department of kinesiology at the University of Texas at Austin.

Malina has studied the growth of young athletes for decades, including at the Montreal Olympics in 1976. Last year, he was part of a committee organized by international governing body Federation Internationale de Gymnastique to address the effects of training on gymnasts’ growth, particularly sexual and skeletal maturation.

Malina’s team analyzed numerous studies conducted over the past four decades hoping to draw some conclusions. Instead, they realized that most studies were confusing or inaccurate, often neglecting to consider age and genetic factors.

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