Fact or Fiction That Your Height Decreases with Age?
Definitely, people tend to become shorter over the years.
Once past 40, adults typically drop about a centimeter of height per decade. Men experience height loss each year of 0.08-0.1%. Women often experience 0.12-0.14% per year.
What Causes Height Loss
A portion of this loss is caused by increasingly slumped posture with aging. Those who develop a curved spinal position throughout the day – maybe at their workstation – might notice their back slowly conforms to that position.
Everyone loses vertical stature throughout each day when gravitational force squeezes fluid from spinal discs.
Physical Changes Explaining Shrinking
Our height transformation happens on a cellular scale.
From 30 to 35 years old, growth ceases as bone and muscle mass start declining. The cushioning discs within our backbone become dehydrated and begin shrinking.
The honeycomb structure throughout our skeletal framework loses density. When this happens, the bone compresses marginally reducing length.
Reduced muscular tissue additionally affects our stature: bones maintain their shape and dimensions by muscular pressure.
Can We Prevent Height Loss?
Although this change isn't stoppable, the rate can be reduced.
Following nutrition containing adequate calcium and vitamin D, performing routine weight-bearing exercise and reducing tobacco and alcohol from younger adulthood could slow the decline of skeletal and muscular tissue.
Maintaining proper posture offers additional safeguarding of height reduction.
Is Shrinking Stature Concerning?
Losing some height could be normal.
But, considerable bone and muscle loss in later years links to chronic health conditions like cardiovascular issues, bone density loss, osteoarthritis, and movement difficulties.
Thus, it's worthwhile to take preventive measures to support structural tissue wellness.
