Does Losing Weight Make you Taller? – Know If it’s a Myth
If you are not satisfied with your height, you are not alone. Mduany people out there have similar concerns. Being a professional trainer, I have come across many questions like, ‘Does losing weight make you taller?’ or ‘Can I increase my height even after 18 just by reducing a few pounds of my body weight?’ If you also have such questions in your mind, you will get your answers in this article. But first, we have to start with the basics.
Does Losing Weight Make you Taller?
Relationship Between the Height and Genetics
Many people believe that our genes determine our height. It’s true, but that isn’t the whole story. Apart from genetics, other factors such as nutrition and lifestyle also affect the height of a person. According to a study, scientists believe that the average height of a person has increased over the last century, in which 60 to 80% of things are related to genetics, and 20 to 40% is related to environmental factors like nutrition.
Why Our Height Stops Increasing?
Our growth plates are the primary reason for our increased height. These plates close between the age of fourteen to nineteen years of our age. These are basically the areas of specialized cartilage near the end of your long bones. When the growth plates are open, the lengthening of our long bones keeps working properly. After puberty, these plates close because of the hormonal changes, which stop the lengthening of bones. The average age of females when the height stops increasing is 16. In males, it is between 15-19.
Can You Get Taller by Losing Weight?
Our elders always encourage us to do activities like hanging, climbing, cycling, etc. to increase the height. Some people also claim that even swimming can make the difference when it comes to height. But, unfortunately, there is no such evidence that can prove that these claims are correct. These activities surely increase your elevation because of the compression and decompression of the cartilage discs in your spine. But, this difference is temporary and, to a minimal extent!
Even the weight lifting doesn’t help to increase the height. Most research shows that weight training is beneficial for aa ages. If the professional trainer is supervising it, it can help the children or adolescents to make their muscles strong. However, it doesn’t help to increase the height, even the growth plates of these youngsters haven’t closed. If these children tried hard and take much pressure, then the whole process may possibly go wrong and damage muscles.
So, according to all this information, we can say that no exercise or stretching techniques make you taller after you turn 18. However, the improved posture and some functional exercises for your posture may make you noticeable taller. But in reality, it is undoubtedly a myth that losing weight makes you taller.
A Healthy Lifestyle Before The Age of 18 Years May Help
Although we may not get our desired height being an adults, there are things that we can do in our teenage. So, if you are a teenager and reading this article, you still have some time to do something about your height. You just have to be consistent and improve your lifestyle a bit. Firstly, you should know that you are eating enough or not. You have to get nutritious and wholesome food. You have to make sure that you are not compromising in any essential vitamins as well as necessary minerals. Sometimes, you may think that you have eaten enough. But, it turns out that the majority of the time, the diet quality was impoverished.
As people don’t understand their diet and take it lightly, many individuals in today’s world are suffering from the deficiency of Vitamin D and Calcium. Such nutrients are essential not only for bone growth but also for the overall health. Not only that, but even the protein-rich food is also beneficial for none growth. Apart from these nutrients, there is no doubt that increasing the intake of fruits and vegetables also promotes bone growth. So, it is mandatory to have an eye on your diet and plan it according to your height and weight.
On the flip side, you have to take care that you don’t overeat and have small meals quite a few times in a day. Increase protein intake in your diet as it improves the bone density of the spine. It is recommended to consume at least 30 grams of protein in every meal to get a healthy body and a healthier lifestyle. If you are not a vegan, then you have many varieties such as eggs, poultry, meats, and dairy products that can help you to increase the protein intake in your diet. If you are vegan, then also you can try almond milk, lentils, soy, and other legumes to keep the menu high in protein.
So now you tell me, can be losing weight make you taller?
The answer is no. It is a myth. Losing a few extra pounds will not make you taller, but it surely provides significant health benefits such as better control over blood sugar or blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Some research claims that losing weight may even increase your longevity and quality of life. Well, we can’t deny that. Right?
The Bottom Line
Some people have a notable height and are quite overweight. Some are not heightened and are quite underweight. And then comes a category of people who don’t have a significant height and are also obese. Well, please know that IT IS OKAY. It’s okay if you are fat or thin, white or black, having a perfect body or not having six-packs, it’s okay! What is not okay is to be unhealthy. If you don’t have any health problems and you can still run for 5 miles at a stretch, then it doesn’t matter if you have those extra pounds.
Before ending this article, I just want to tell you that you should accept yourself the way you are. If you can’t, then try until you can love yourself again. Do whatever it takes, but never let anyone dull your sparkle. 🙂
