Is it possible to lose a small amount of height due to weight gain?
I'm just wondering if this is at all possible. And by small amount, I mean 1/2 - 3/4 of an inch. I know that people are generally shorter in the evenings, due to gravity and spinal compression. If you weigh significantly more than you did before, do the disks between your vertebrae compress more?
Interesting question... I'll be interested to read replies!
Oh, dear god, I hope not! I don't want to shrink anymore!
I, too, am interested if anyone out there knows.
I've never heard of that. I can imagine severely undereating would weaken bones, leading to getting shorter, but I think it would have to be a very large amount of weight that would have that effect.
However, weight gain could lead to poor posture, which would give the appearence of getting shorter? I'm just thinking out loud here...
Poor posture was what I was thinking too. I don't think it could *actually* make you shorter.
Your right...
However, if you had no back problems before, a few pounds should be of no consequence.
When born your body grows with you and was designed to hold a certain weight...when you surpass that weight at what ever age it happens.
..the first thing to go is the lower back..Vertebra #3, 4 and 5 will be compressed even more and it has nerves that can shoot down to your legs and out your arms causing tingling in your fingers and toes.
Big breasted women suffer lower back problems more than small breasted women and the only cure is the breast reduction.
The skeletal structure is not made to carry that extra fat for many women which unfortunately many women want because many men want it too. lol
To me a B or C cup is the best for the lower back.
Weight on the rest of the body can also have the same affect on the spine. Most people who are extremely over weight will find their ankles can no longer support the extra weight and when you add the waste they carry in the colon, you have more serious problems for the spine.
Inversion therapy helps traction the spine and reverse this damage and pain but losing the weight and getting rid of those extra fatty pounds, is the best permanent fix.
It is estimated that 66% of adult Americans have recurring back pain. And most of this is due to being over weight. People who are over weight actually do more harm to when they left weights, walk or run because this all puts pressure on the spine. They want to do it to lose weight but end up with back problems doing it.
A "Catch 22"!
Keep the weight off and stay at your ideal weight. That is common sense.
is right about posture.
sit straight, walk straight and bend at the knees to pick things up..
Good posture is important for a healthy spine.
I would believe it is possible for the following reason.
A person who is carrying a lot of excess weight is stressing their spine, and compacting the discs between the vertabrae. If each of these discs were to lose some of their thickness, you could conceivably lose a little height. I don't imagine that it would be very much, but it is not beyond the realm of possibility.
I believe this way because of a discussion I had recently with my doctor, who suggested that one of the possible reasons for my lower back pain was due to deterioration of the discs in my spine, caused by the added stress of carrying extra weight.
I do know of someone who has been morbidly obese for most of her life.....she claims she used to be 5ft 1 and now is 4ft 11. I don't know how true that is though. I'm 5 ft 1 myself and she is definately a couple of inches shorter than me even when stood up straight but whether she was actually taller to begin with I only have her word for that!
I think themessageguy is correct. It depends on the person. I was 6'1 when I weighed 185 in high school. I was 6'1 when I weighed 425 a couple of years back. And now, at 48, I weigh 255 and I am still 6'1.
This post got me thinking and I did a little research and found out that it is natural for a person to lose height as they age, partially due to shrinking of the discs in the spine. The study found that people who don't exercise regularly, which in related to obesity, had more shrinkage of the discs and consequently more height lost. Average height lost due to aging was about 5.5 centimeters in those who didn't exercise and only about half as much for those that do (2.6 cm).
While this doesn't state specifically that being overweight can cause you to get shorter, it is a good argument for including regular exercise in your weight loss plan to minimize the amount of height lost as you age.
The study also found that exercise helped prevent bones from bending and being compressed, which could also contribute to lost height, by keeping them stronger and less brittle.
Thank you all for your replies. I was more or less curious because I went to the doctor the other day and came in at 1/8" under 5'10", where I've always been 5'10.5". It's possible that the measurement was off, or that I was slouching. Or I could just be a half inch shorter than I thought I was. I'm 22, so I don't think it's an age thing. I do have terrible posture when I'm at the computer though, I'm a huncher - especially when I'm concentrating. I might pick up yoga again, though. I don't want to lose anymore height, haha.
