The tall and short of ageing

Standing tall becomes difficult as you grow older. Starting at 40, people lose about half an inch from their height over each decade, with the fall in inches accelerating after the age of 70 years, writes Sanchita Sharma.

Standing tall becomes difficult as you grow older. Starting at 40, people lose about half an inch from their height over each decade, with the fall in inches accelerating after the age of 70 years.

There’s a gender bias as well. Data from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Ageing — the longest-running scientific study of human ageing, begun in the US in 1958 — shows that men lose about two inches between the ages of 30 and 80, and women, about three inches.

The reasons for the age-related fall in vertical inches are many. The main cause is osteoporosis, or the loss of bone mass. Bones become porous and brittle with age, leading to scores of tiny fractures in the vertebrae that make up the spine. The fractures make the bones collapse into each other, making the spine gradually bend over but without the pain associated with broken bones.

The fall in height is far more dramatic in older women because estrogen preserves bone mass by preventing calcium reabsorption into the bloodstream.

Some doctors — such as osteoporosis expert Dr Harold Rosen from Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston — say that bad posture is as much to blame, as osteoporosis accounts for only 30 per cent of the Mother Hubbard-type stoops. In others, bad posture could be the reason.

Compared to other health problems that accompany ageing, this doesn’t sound like too big a deal. Unless, of course, that the stoop becomes severe and starts interfering with movement, or worse, breathing (stooping reduces the chest cavity, squeezing the lungs and making breathing difficult).

Since you can add to bone mass only till the age of about 30, it’s a good idea to stock up early.

You can build bone tissue by including calcium and vitamin D in your daily diet, doing weight-bearing and balancing exercises regularly, and avoid bone-strength-sapping habits such as caffeine, smoking or excessive alcohol use.

A diet rich in calcium — found in broccoli, mustard greens, turnip greens, cabbage, salmon, canned sardines, almonds, dried beans — can protect the spine. If you’re older than 50, supplementation is a good option as you need 1,200 mg — about four cups of milk or yoghurt — a day to preserve bone mass. An essential bone-building nutrient is vitamin D, found in egg yolk, butter, cheese, cod liver oil and other fish liver oils. The human body can also makes adequate vitamin D from 30 minutes of sunlight.

The only medical treatment that actually helps build bones is isteriparatide, a form of parathyroid hormone, which has to be injected every day to treat severe osteoporosis. Besides, exercises that strengthen the back muscles and yoga are a good option.