• Question: Can people decrease in height?

    Asked by emmagrace to Dalya, Derek, Sarah, Tim, Tom on 21 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Tim Millar

      Tim Millar answered on 20 Jun 2011:

      Yes, from the age of 40 we loose height because we stop growing especially our bones and the effects of gravity start to take hold too!

    • Photo: Derek McKay-Bukowski

      Derek McKay-Bukowski answered on 20 Jun 2011:

      We stop growing, sure. But also the material between our bones starts to reduce too.

      (The gravity is always there. Whether we are young or old.)

    • Photo: Sarah Thomas

      Sarah Thomas answered on 20 Jun 2011:

      Yes you shrink a little bit every day!!

      You aren’t as tall at the end of the day as you are at the beginning. That’s because as the day goes on, water in the disks of the spine gets compressed due to gravity, making you just a tiny bit shorter. Don’t worry, though. Once you get a good night’s rest, your body recovers, and the next morning, you’re standing tall again!

      Older people shrink over time due to gravity, and the disks between the bones in the spine get compressed over time. The vertebrae end up pressing closer together, which makes a person lose a little height and become shorter.

      Older people can also shrink because of osteoporosis. Osteoporosis occurs when bone is broken down and not enough new bone material is made. Over time, bone is said to be lost because it’s not being replaced. Bones become smaller and weaker and can easily break if someone with osteoporosis is injured.

    • Photo: Tom Crick

      Tom Crick answered on 21 Jun 2011:

      Definitely — there are a number of chronic diseases that can cause this to happen. For example, my grandfather has a mild form of : this causes gradual fusion of the spine so he has lost about three inches in height over the years.

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