Contents:
- Medical Video: Why We Age - And How We Can Stop It
- When does the height stop growing?
- How old will your height start to decline?
- Why does height decrease?
Medical Video: Why We Age - And How We Can Stop It
Height growth does not always occur throughout life. Height will increase quickly, then it will stop. And it turns out it's not up to that point, height can decrease as you get older. Then, when does height growth stop and when will it decrease?
When does the height stop growing?
Height growth will stop when the plate in the long bones closes so that the bones cannot grow longer. This generally occurs when you are still at puberty. Therefore, before puberty runs out, you should use this opportunity as well as possible to increase your height.
When you enter puberty will vary by person. However, generally women will experience puberty first before men.
Women start entering puberty at the age of 8-13 years and experience peak growth at the age of 10-14 years. Two years after puberty begins, women will reach the peak of their height growth. And, then growth in height stops at around the age of 14-16 years (depending on when puberty starts).
Meanwhile, men start entering puberty at the age of 10-13 years. And, tend to experience peak growth at the age of 12-16 years. Generally in men, height growth stops at 18 years of age (this also depends on when puberty starts), but muscle development will continue.
How old will your height start to decline?
Yes, our height can decrease with age, as said Professor Barbara Workman, director of the Monash Aging Research Center (MON-ARC), reported by ABC Health & Wellbeing.
You may start losing your height about half a centimeter to more than one centimeter every 10 years, starting at the age of 40. However, this might happen differently for each person, some people experience a decrease in height after age 60 or 70 years.
Generally, women experience a decrease in height at an earlier age than men. This is because women tend to experience bone loss after menopause. In addition, because men usually have stronger bones and bigger muscles than women.
People who are active enough may experience a slower decline in height. Because it has stronger and denser bones, and greater muscle mass compared to people who are less active. As you get older, you will also experience loss of muscle mass, in addition to losing bone mass.
Why does height decrease?
Still according to Workman, one of the main causes of decreased height is because the disks that form the joints of the cartilage between the spine are depleted. This dish functions as a shock absorber and helps the spine to move more flexibly.
As you age, these plates can thin out and get damaged so that they can cause height to decrease. In addition, osteoporosis can also be a reason for your height to decline. Osteoporosis makes bones more fragile so that they are prone to fractures. Broken bones that occur in the spine can cause height to decrease.
In addition, sarcopenia that usually occurs in old age can also be a cause of decreased height. Sarcopenia or loss of muscle mass and function that occurs in the trunk of the body can cause the body to become bent, so that height decreases. Hunchback can also be caused by compression fractures in the spine.
