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Shrinking as you get older can partly be prevented when you engage in intensive sports at least three times a week during youth, thereby increasing bone strength. This is revealed by new research from the University at Buffalo School.
Shrinking during aging
Yesterday morning, I woke up, half-dreaming that a large bird of prey was flying over me. It turned out to be my wife once again waving the blankets around because she was having a hot flash. She has recently entered the dreaded menopause and complains daily about a body temperature that seems to go haywire regularly. I hardly dare tell her that she now also runs the risk of shrinking.
It is, in fact, one of the possible effects of menopause, the loss of height. This loss of height is not only an aesthetic result but, according to researchers, is also associated with a higher risk of death and diseases.
Everyone who gets older can shrink due to the breakdown of bone mass, which occurs faster than the formation. This normally happens around the age of 30 – 35. During and after menopause, this decrease in bone mass density is even greater, making this group often used to study this decline.
In addition to this decrease in bone density and strength, the discs in the spine become flatter. Muscle mass also decreases, causing the space between joints to become smaller.
Normal decreases in height range from 1 to 2 cm in total. However, larger decreases also occur, with decreases of 5 to 10 centimeters according to researchers. Such decreases in height, however, are not a normal consequence of aging but indicate specific causes. Osteoporosis is the most common reason for this.
Strength training and bone strength
We previously wrote about preventing osteoporosis in women by engaging in strength training at a young age. In that article, it is explained that you can increase bone mass and density until the age of 30 by doing strength training and/or explosive training. The more mass and density built up, the better the preservation when the turning point is reached around the age of 35. When bone mass then decreases faster than it is made, you have a greater ‘buffer’.
The findings from the latest research are therefore not surprising. Only a link is made to height, which is a logical connection.
Strength training as a teenager
A while ago, I was called by a radio program about Ronaldo’s son and the controversy over the fact that he was supposedly training too heavily. That was outright nonsense, but criticism of strength training by children is common. Just two weeks ago, I saw a documentary about it on the NPO.
We have dedicated several articles to this topic. In them, we explain that the so-called risk of damaged discs is negligible. This risk is also greater in sports where heavy injuries can occur more quickly, such as in football.
Looking at bone health and bone strength, it is precisely necessary to give the bones enough resistance in youth to increase bone density when it is still possible.
Shrinking after menopause
It is therefore not surprising that shrinking after menopause can largely be prevented by engaging in a lot of intensive training during adolescence.
Having done strenuous exercise regularly, at least three times a week, in their teens was protective for later life height loss in our study
Professor Jean Wactawski-Wende, University at Buffalo School of Public Health and Health Professions.
For the study, they used data from 1024 participants in the Buffalo Osteoporosis and Periodontal Disease Study. They measured the participants’ height at the start and five years later. They focused mainly on women who had shrunk by 2.5 cm or more, based on two previous studies that showed a link between height loss and a higher risk of death.
On average, height loss among the more than 1000 women was just over a centimeter over the 7-year period. The researchers found that women who had engaged in a lot of intensive sports during their youth were most protected against this loss in height.
Other reasons why you shrink as you get older
Based on the women who had shrunk above average, other risk factors could also be identified. These factors were:
- Age
- Weight
- Use of corticosteroids
Age, you can’t change much about that. However, weight can be controlled. After all, losing weight is
one of the most discussed topics here and in our app, where dozens of coaches are ready to help you with it. Perhaps the nightmare of getting shorter in height as you grow wider is an extra motivation for a healthy weight.
The use of corticosteroids is sometimes necessary to reduce inflammation, but it is sometimes nothing more than symptom relief with possible adverse effects. Preventing shrinking is just one reason to use corticosteroids only as a last resort.
Conclusion
As was already known, you can protect your bones at an older age by making them as strong as possible at a younger age. Intensive physical exercise is an important means for this.
The recent research mainly shows that a decrease in bone strength not only causes medical problems but also makes you shrink faster at an older age.
Reference
- Xiaodan Mai, Britt Marshall, Kathleen M. Hovey, Jill Sperrazza, Jean Wactawski-Wende. Risk factors for 5-year prospective height loss among postmenopausal women. Menopause, 2018;
