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Changing body proportions?

Roboramma

Penultimate Amazing
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Feb 22, 2005
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I was reading through a yoga discussion board and saw this comment:
"I am pretty short but have lost torso length as I've gotten older. In the past my torso was longer than my legs, now it's the other way around."

Is this possible? It strikes me as very odd. Of course yoga people make a lot of strange false claims about their bodies, so it wouldn't surprise me too much if it isn't, but one never knows.
I just can't get my head around why someone would think their body proportions were changing if it wasn't actually happening, but then people believe a lot of strange things

Anyway, anyone with some medical or anatomical knowledge know? I was thinking maybe the process of aging could have this affect? Seems doubtful though.

Weird.
 
It is a fact that people start to lose height in middle age and later. Mainly because the spine compacts and the leg bones/joints lose density, also also because older people 'slump' more (it's the gravity...). It happens to everybody - my SO nowadays is shorter than I am; when we met 25 years ago he was at least an inch taller.
Nothing at all to do with yoga.
 
sophia8 said:
It is a fact that people start to lose height in middle age and later. Mainly because the spine compacts and the leg bones/joints lose density, also also because older people 'slump' more (it's the gravity...). It happens to everybody - my SO nowadays is shorter than I am; when we met 25 years ago he was at least an inch taller.
Nothing at all to do with yoga.
Click to expand...

Oh, cool! I knew that people "shrink" as they get older, but I thought it was all the "slump" effect that you mention - gravity pulls us down, sort of, and our muscles get tighter as we age, that sort of thing. Didn't know it included a skeletal change. Neat-o!

You learn something new every day. :)
 
I know I lose 1" everyday, then gain it back at night. Try it at home. As we age, we lose resiliency, and don't gain it back at night. And, since most of our 'shrinkage' happens in out backs, our bellies just get bigger as we age....

Anthropometrics is fun: I know that I am in the top 2% of height, but only at the top 3 percentile by weight. Doesn't that make me 50% underweight?
 
Let's not forget osteoporosis. Menopause and gastric bypass surgery, which causes malabsorption of calcium, has taken over an inch off my height from what it was at age 20. I knew osteoporosis was a possibility when I had the bypass, but with heart disease and diabetes in my family history (let alone the prejudices against the obese) I opted for the surgery. I do take a medication that is supposed to halt the loss of bone density. (wink) I'm much happier with all that weight off, too. You can see my before and after pics here:
http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/members/profile.php?N=Buchholz957236110
(And I'm not trying to boast - it has changed my life. I'll take a little drop in height for feeling more normal. BTW, my real name is on this link, so close your eyes... (smile)
 
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