"Some of this is caused by increasingly slumped posture as we get older. People who sit or stand with a curved spine for prolonged periods of time perhaps at their desk may find that, over time, their spine assumes that position naturally. Older people sometimes stoop to find a more secure centre of gravity too. We all decrease in height between the start and end of each day as gravity squeezes water out of the intervertebral discs"
"The discs between the vertebrae in our spine lose water and begin to shrink in size. The honeycomb-like centre of the bones in our spine, pelvis and legs becomes less dense. And as that happens, the bone condenses ever so slightly, and gets shorter, says Taylor, adding that decreased muscle mass affects our height further still: the way bones maintain their shape and size is by having the force of muscles on them."
Humans lose measurable height with age, accelerating after midlife. After 40, average height declines roughly one centimetre per decade, with men losing about 0.08–0.1% per year and women 0.12–0.14% per year. Contributing factors include increasingly slumped posture from prolonged sitting or standing with a curved spine, daily compression as gravity squeezes water from intervertebral discs, and longer-term dehydration and shrinkage of spinal discs. Bone microarchitecture becomes less dense, causing slight condensation and shortening, while decreased muscle mass reduces the mechanical forces that help bones maintain shape and size.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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