A medical sense for this (see notes)?

(Asked on behalf of someone on one of my sites).
This person ate okay, but for some reason his body never registered that it be getting what it needed and so never grew as it should. It changed when he was almost 17, so he suddenly shot up.
Is there a medical judgment that could do this, then transfer at 17 without cause his body any damaging affects (for example, hyperthyroidism burns itself out, which lead to weight gain, fatigue and pituitary problems)? growth glands. I have a friend in primary conservatory, she was what they call for "short and stout" - only markedly short for her age. She said it was an condition in her glands, did a presentation on it contained by hopes it would stop our classmates from bullying her (kids can be so cruel to anyone they perceive as different in any way).
I saw her just about a month ago and she's now taller (not really elevated but normal size) and more skinny than she used to be. She looked deeply good! The problem within her glands got sorted (didn't ask how, so don't know if it happen naturally) and she caught up on her growth. As far as I know, she didn't hold side effects.
Another reason could be a plain and simple growth spurt (the story of my administrator Dutch name! LOL). My dad be always shorter than his sister (who be two years younger). He was also unbelievably skinny, no matter what he ate. At fourteen, my aunt stopped growing and my dad, afterwards about 16-17, have a growth spurt and is now more or less 6ft/1.80m. It happens, and it's slightly normal. No intention at all to verbs, I think.