How Weight Loss Affects Height
Photo by Biswarup Ganguly, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Does Weight Loss Affect Height?
People come in many heights, sizes, and shapes. A person considered tall in one country may be average in another.
Many people wonder whether there is a link between weight and height, and whether losing weight can make you taller. The short answer: adults don't grow taller after losing weight, but people with obesity may regain a few millimeters of spinal disc height.
First, here are the main factors that determine height.
Factors that determine Human Heights
The following factors determine human height:
Hormones: Growth hormone, sex hormones (testosterone and estrogen), and thyroid hormones all play a role.
Genetics: Genes explain most of the difference in height between people. Nutrition and health during childhood also matter.
Gender: On average, adult men are taller than adult women. Boys and girls grow at similar rates before puberty, but boys usually have a longer and later growth spurt.
Spine/Backbone: Long bones grow at growth plates near their ends. Once the growth plates mature and close, usually by the late teens, bones stop growing in length.
What obesity does to the body?
Carrying excess weight is not good for your health, and overweight is good for nothing when it comes to your joints and spine. Weight is easy to gain and harder to lose.
Obesity raises the risk of serious problems, including type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke.
What obesity does to the spine?
Reduction of disc height
In one study, 72 adults from a community-based study had MRI scans of the lower spine. The researchers found that people with obesity had lower lumbar disc heights than people without obesity.
The authors concluded that obesity is associated with reduced disc height in the lumbar spine but not at the lumbosacral junction. Obesity was associated with reduced disc height in the lumbar spine.
Deviation in lumbar spinal angle
Excess weight, especially around the belly, can change posture and increase the inward curve of the lower back. This can make a person stand a little shorter.
Growth plate problems
In children, obesity raises the risk of slipped capital femoral epiphysis (SCFE). In this condition, the ball of the hip joint slips at the growth plate of the thigh bone.
MedlinePlus lists obesity as a risk factor for SCFE, along with rapid growth in early adolescence.
But How does Weight Loss Affect The Height?
Many people want to lose weight and gain height at the same time. So, can losing weight make you taller?
There is a small link between weight and measured height, mostly through the spine. Losing weight can relieve some pressure on the discs, but the change is measured in millimeters, not inches.
Do I Get Taller When I Lose Weight?
If you're only a few pounds overweight, losing them won't change your height in any measurable way.
People with severe obesity may see a small change. Extra weight compresses the discs between the vertebrae, and removing that load can let some disc height recover.
A 2012 study of patients who had weight-loss surgery found that the height of one lower-back disc (intervertebral discs at L4-L5) increased from about 6 mm before surgery to about 8 mm one year later.
The amount of weight lost did not predict how much the disc height increased.
So, when a person with obesity loses a lot of weight, the load on the spine drops, and they may stand a few millimeters taller.
Extra weight also strains other joints, especially the knees.
Can you get taller from losing weight? True growth in bone length only happens while the growth plates are open, in childhood and adolescence. After they close, bones can't grow longer.
Children and teens grow best with good nutrition, enough sleep, and a healthy weight.
Gaining height shouldn't be your main reason to lose weight. The CDC notes that even modest weight loss can improve blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar, and lower the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
Losing weight can also lower your risk of some cancers and improve your quality of life.
Your doctor can check your body mass index (BMI) to see whether you are in a healthy weight range. Adults should expect, at most, a small change in measured height from spinal decompression after major weight loss.
Can Weight Acquisition Lead To Short Height?
Weight gain doesn't shorten your bones. In adults, heavy weight can compress the spinal discs slightly, which may reduce measured height by a few millimeters.
In children, obesity often comes with earlier puberty. That can mean being taller than peers at first but finishing growth earlier.
If you lose weight, do you get taller?
Obesity in children and teens is a growing problem and carries real health risks. For adults, the honest answer is: you won't grow taller, but you may regain a little spinal height.
Excess weight increases the load on the joints and spinal discs. Your knees, hips, and spine carry that extra load every day.
To sum it up, losing weight is beneficial to both your height growth and body health only in a limited sense: the height effect is tiny, while the health benefits are large. Weight loss can lower blood pressure and cholesterol and reduce the risk of several diseases.
Looking taller and getting taller
If you lose weight, you may look slightly taller because your body proportions change. A slimmer frame can look longer. However, looking taller and getting taller are two different things!
GHS Talk: You should also consider HGH as one factor that dictates your height either before or after weight loss. Drop in here to know more: HGH for Weight Loss.
Effects of exercises
Exercise supports weight loss and keeps muscles and joints healthy. Strengthening the back and core muscles also helps you hold good posture.
When you stand and sit up straight, you use all the height you have. Better posture can make you look taller and measure slightly taller than when slouching.
Getting taller after adolescence?
Once the growth plates close, usually by the late teens or early twenties, your bones can't grow longer. Adults can't increase their true height through diet or exercise.
What adults can do is protect the height they have. Good posture, strength training, and enough calcium and vitamin D help keep the spine and bones healthy as you age.
FAQS
Is it possible to get taller when you lose weight?
Only slightly, and mainly for people with severe obesity. A 2012 study found that one lower-back disc grew from about 6 mm to about 8 mm in height a year after weight-loss surgery. If you are only a little overweight, losing a few pounds won't change your height.
Better posture after losing belly fat can also make you look taller. Feeling more confident may help you stand straighter, too.
Is there any exercise that can increase my height?
No exercise can lengthen your bones after the growth plates close. Exercise helps with weight loss, posture, and back strength, which help you stand at your full height.
Can nutrition affect my height?
Good nutrition is vital for growth during childhood and adolescence. Children who don't get enough calories and protein may not reach their full height.
In adults, nutrition can't increase height, but it helps maintain healthy bones and a healthy weight.
How should height be measured?
Any change in an adult's height after weight loss is measured in millimeters, not inches. For an accurate reading, measure at the same time of day, because discs compress slightly from morning to evening.
Are thin people taller, or do they look taller?
They often look taller. A slim build can make a person appear taller than they are, similar to the effect of vertical stripes.
Conclusion
So, how does weight loss affect height? Adults won't grow taller, but people with severe obesity may regain a few millimeters of spinal disc height after major weight loss.
The real benefits are better health and lower risk of disease. Talk to your doctor or a dietitian about a safe plan for diet, exercise, and, if needed, medical treatment.
