Height loss with weightloss?

jeepinshawn

So what gives, I have been heavy almost my whole life, and my height has always been 5'9" and 3/4 inches, I lost 100lbs and was at the doctors and now my weight is right at or just a hair below 5'8"and 3/4....Did I just have an inch of fat on my feet and head? Has this happened to anyone else?

Lourdesong

My dr appointment last month I was measured 0.5 inch taller than the height I was measured 100+ lbs heavier.

So, no, the opposite happened for me.

Sued0nim

Sorry

peleroja

jeepinshawn wrote: »

So what gives, I have been heavy almost my whole life, and my height has always been 5'9" and 3/4 inches, I lost 100lbs and was at the doctors and now my weight is right at or just a hair below 5'8"and 3/4....Did I just have an inch of fat on my feet and head? Has this happened to anyone else?

I've heard of people gaining height (less weight/compression on joints and spinal cord, plus better posture) but I've never heard of getting shorter from weight loss, honestly.

My feet got a little smaller even going from BMI 25ish to BMI 19ish, though.

Not a big help, I'm sorry. But losing height is only something I've heard of with age or disease, so maybe it's worth asking your doctor the next time you're in to rule out bone density issues etc.

N200lz

Same doctors office?
Same measuring equipment?
Both times shoes off or on?
Age related?

Jake3844

Whenever something bad happens cupcakes seem to make me feel better, so I'm going to say cupcakes. Hope this helps.

jeepinshawn

I will have to recheck with the doctors to see if they changed anything, as I don't go frequently enough to remember.

jeepinshawn

Also Im just turning 39 this next month so Im assuming it is not age related

Alatariel75

I've lost weight off my feet... maybe yours are smaller now

CoffeeNCardio

I lost a 1/4 inch when I gained weight (40 lbs of weight) going from 5'2" to 5'13/4" (extremely accurate measuring wall at doctors office with sliding head crusher thing, it hurts) but I dunno about losing height when losing weight.... my guess is the measurement wasn't extraordinarily accurate., a one inch margin of error isn't unbelievable when you take Hair into account.

angerelle

The nurse told me I'd lost a couple of centimetres when I went in for my 40+ check (before I started losing weight) and said it was common as you aged. I still think I'm the same height measured against the mark I made when we started measuring the kids 10 years ago though, so maybe it's just a measurement error. Maybe I should give my height as 169 +/- 2cm

kshama2001

I was 5'6.5" when I was 18 and thought I would have lost that 1/2 inch by now but I still have it, 30 years later.

SMKing75

Well, all my young life I was 5'7". I have measured 5'6" and a half for the past 5 years. Doctor said it is possible to get shorter especially as you age. I just turned 40.

kshama2001

Yes, You Are Getting Shorter

Height Loss May Signal Health Risks, Especially for Men; Some Exercises Help

You're not just getting older. You're probably getting shorter, too.

Height loss is a natural part of aging—some people start shrinking slightly as early as 30. Losing too much height too rapidly, however, can signal a high risk for hip fractures, spinal fractures and even heart disease, particularly in men, several recent studies have found.

"If you are a female, between the ages of 45 and 65, and you notice you are shrinking, that's pretty usual," says Marian Hannan, an epidemiologist at Hebrew Senior Life, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School. "If you're a man, it may be a warning sign to speak to your health-care provider."

...Smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol or caffeine excessively, extreme dieting and taking steroids and other medications can exacerbate height loss. Sticking to a healthy diet, with adequate calcium and vitamin D, and doing regular weight-bearing exercise can help stave it off, although having strong genes also helps.

When people shrink more or faster, the biggest concern is osteoporosis, in which bones become weak, brittle and vulnerable to breakage.

Read more: http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424053111904194604576580720025344668

Mondoweft

I find that when I am tired my posture is not as good, even when standing straight. That could easily lose me an inch (and I don't have any height to spare)

Sued0nim

I don't wanna shrink ....my BMI range will change ...

N200lz

Posture is a big factor. I remember seeing a guy on a talk show discuss how he helped his son meet the height minimum and qualify for pilot training in the military. By changing his posture, he was able to gain better than an inch in height.

Who knows ..... you might be able to convince your doctor that you are having a growth spurt at 39.

mirrim52

rabbitjb wrote: »

I don't wanna shrink ....my BMI range will change ...

I can't afford to shrink, I am only 5'0"! I refuse to drop below 5'. Even if I shrink I will still always be 5'0" as far as anyone knows.

I vote for poor posture or measuring error.

tomteboda

Because I move around a lot, I haven't had a consistent medical record. Thus, for years my startled announcements of "how am I shorter?" were laughed off by nurses saying "you must be mistaken".

You see, at the age of 14 I was already 5'11". But at 19 I was 5'10.5" . And at 21 down to 5'10". By 25 I'd reached 5'9".

At the age of 27 I went in for x-rays for pneumonia. The doctor said, and I quote "We found two things on your x-rays. First, you were right, you're just starting to get pneumonia. Second, you have scoliosis. But I'm sure you already knew that."

No, thank you, I did not know that. Diagnosis? Severe levorotary scoliosis of the thoracic spine.

It gets better...

At 32 I went in for x-rays because I contracted dysentery. And THOSE x-rays led to yet another diagnosis: Profound levorotary scoliosis of the lumbar spine.

Based on the curvature in my spine, I should be around 6'1" - 6'2". Now, nothing about the size of me has changed. I just basically got squished down. My internal organs are the same. My bones are the same. Everything is THE SAME.. except my backbone decided to emulate a corkscrew.

BMI drives me absolutely bonkers for this reason.

krithsai

tomteboda wrote: »

Because I move around a lot, I haven't had a consistent medical record. Thus, for years my startled announcements of "how am I shorter?" were laughed off by nurses saying "you must be mistaken".

You see, at the age of 14 I was already 5'11". But at 19 I was 5'10.5" . And at 21 down to 5'10". By 25 I'd reached 5'9".

At the age of 27 I went in for x-rays for pneumonia. The doctor said, and I quote "We found two things on your x-rays. First, you were right, you're just starting to get pneumonia. Second, you have scoliosis. But I'm sure you already knew that."

No, thank you, I did not know that. Diagnosis? Severe levorotary scoliosis of the thoracic spine.

It gets better...

At 32 I went in for x-rays because I contracted dysentery. And THOSE x-rays led to yet another diagnosis: Profound levorotary scoliosis of the lumbar spine.

Based on the curvature in my spine, I should be around 6'1" - 6'2". Now, nothing about the size of me has changed. I just basically got squished down. My internal organs are the same. My bones are the same. Everything is THE SAME.. except my backbone decided to emulate a corkscrew.

BMI drives me absolutely bonkers for this reason.

That's like science fiction!

jemhh

I've gotten shorter over the past several years. I was always 5'6" since the 8th grade in 1989. For the past two years the measurements at doctors' offices, on the same scales that measured me as 5'6" in the past, have all been 5'5.5".