Does height decrease when you get old ?

Older adults can get shorter because the cartilage between their joints gets worn out and osteoporosis causes the spinal column to become shorter,” he says. “Adults can also lose lean muscle mass but gain fat. This is a condition called sarcopenia.”

Sarcopenia is characterized by a decrease in muscle mass, which leads to weakness and frailty and also a decrease in height. Osteoporosis causes bones to become weak and fracture, which can also cause a person to become shorter.

A little bit of shrinking is a normal part of aging, and it happens because of three things, basically," Raj says. First, as we age, the discs between our vertebrates lose fluid, so they flatten a bit and your vertebrates "simply come together, so your spine is actually shrinking a little bit," Raj explains.

The arches of your feet also tend to flatten a bit as we age. Finally, we lose muscle mass as we age -- especially in our abdomen, which leads to poorer posture -- which gives the appearance of being shorter.

On average, we shrink about a quarter to a third of an inch per decade for every decade after 40. All told, men will get about 1.2 to 1.5 inches shorter, and women will lose up to 2 inches, by age 70. "For men it's less prominent because they have more muscle mass in general and their bones tend to be stronger they lose less height," Raj says.

KeenanA said:
I could just be stupid… but don’t ppl get shorter when they are old? Or is it just there posture that gets worse and worse?

DarkHumor04 said:
I know some people who don't get shorter because it's only a problem for people with bad postures.
I'm 6'0 at 16 I think I should be around 6'3 by 20 so I wonder if I do get short how much?
Answers would be much appreciated.

linnline said:


It’s not only true for people with bad posture. It might affect them more, but many shrink a little bit anyway. My grandmother had a great posture when she was younger, but even so she’s shrunk by about 3 centimetres (about 1.2 inches) over the past 20 years.

So yes, many do get shorter with old age, but it’s super exaggerated in anime (as with many other real-life tropes in anime).