What makes you go smaller' as you reach old age?

Question

And is there anyway you can prevent that?

Answer 1

Your bones lose calcium and your spine compresses. How much calcium you lose determines how much height you lose. If you've got good bone structure now and maintain it you won't lose much. Smaller boned people are at greater risk for osteoporosis, which leads to the greatest loss in height. To prevent bone loss take a calcium supplement, drink and eat plenty of milk products and look for other calcium rich foods.

Answer 2

Hi Denis,

there are a number of factors that make you shrink as you age (and I should know!) The principal one is that the support structure for your spine begins to decay and even crumble making the separation distance between the bones of your spine less, and thus descreasing your height. Muscle wastage adds to this effect.

What can you do about it? Well, not a great deal but there are some things that seems to offer help.

Your general fitness should be kept as high as you can make it, with regular excercise. According to the latest I have read this excercise should not be too violent (there is no need to play squash (rachetball) every day and too much violent excercise can wear out the joints. (ask any old gymnast)

A healthy diet will also help, whether you are young or old, obesity adds more downforce to the spinal column wear and can increase the shrinking effect.

The general health advice seems to be keep active and excercise daily, eat healthily. When you think about it they tell you that whatever age you are, don't they?

Now I'm getting older myself I am surrounded by older people and have noticed that some are indeed shrinking. Others, however, are still apparrently the same height as they were. These, I have to agree, are the ones who still take daily excercise. So maybe the advice works.

I am 63 years old, as yet I'm still the same height I was thirty years ago (68.5") I cannot excercise myself as I am pretty well disabled now and can't walk much anymore, but then, maybe sitting in a wheelchair doesn't pull so much on the spine...I'll have to wait a few more years to see. Even if it means I don't shrink I can hardly recommend it as a solution...the disadvantages outweight any possible benefit.

Stand tall and keep fit, that's your best chance, I think

Cheers,
BobSpain

Answer 3

Loss of bone density coupled with decrease in muscle mass.

Make sure you get the daily recommended value of calcium and stay active. With Science today, I'm sure this is going to be less and less of a problem.

Answer 4

Thats real complicated to explain here, but one of the main factors is a massive drop in the amount of Growth Hormone and Testosterone we produce as we age.

Answer 5

You lose density of the bones, tend to stand in a less erect manner and muscles also lose bulk.

Answer 6

You mean heightwise? Something to do with the density of your bones becoming less, giving the less height affect.

Answer 7

I'm 78 and I don't have that problem.
Perhaps others slouch slightly and this takes an inch or so off ones height.

Answer 8

you lose control of the muscles that it takes to stand completely upright. Don't know how to prevent it sorry

Answer 9

It's principally the discs between your vertebrae, which narrow as we get older, so your spine gets shorter.

Answer 10

because of the biologic instincts in the human been .