Dwarfism is a disorder in which people who have this condition will have an abnormally slow rate of growth that normally halts at a certain period leaving them as developmentally challenged. There have been many myths about the causes other factors of dwarfism. Today let’s clear things up with 10 facts about this serious, medical disorder that is affecting people around the world.

Fact 1: Dwarfism is hereditary, but everyone has a chance of having an offspring with this disorder even if they have no known history of this condition.

Fact 2: A person with a form of this condition normally does not grow over 4 feet and 11 inches in height.

Fact 3: At least 80 percent of people with dwarfism have perfectly normal parents.

Fact 4: Studies estimate that there are over 650,000 cases of dwarfism in the entire world today.

Fact 5: The two major causes of dwarfism are achondroplasia and growth hormone deficiency. Achondroplasia results in an abnormal allele found in the genome while the latter is the body’s inability to produce sufficient growth hormones.

Fact 6: Dwarfism does not affect that person’s intelligence. Most people with dwarfism have an average level of intelligence.

Fact 7: It is, in fact, impossible to prevent dwarfism from developing in one’s family, and no cure is known to combat this disorder as of yet.

Fact 8: An average-sized child of parents with dwarfism actually has a lesser chance of passing down this disorder to his/her own children.

Fact 9: The life expectancy of people with dwarfism does not differ from those of an average person. Medical reports show that they do not have a shorter life expectancy at all.

Fact 10: Keep in mind that the term ‘œmidget’ is considered highly offensive when referring to people with this disorder. ‘œLittle people’ or ‘œvertically challenged’ are more accepted terms, but calling them by their name is better.