Why do old people go shorter?
828351
The discs between the vertebrae shrink, through compression and loss of fluid, leading to curvature of the spine and actual physical loss of height.\n\nThe bones themselves DO NOT SHRINK despite what others say, but the cartilage at the joints does wear out
124755
No growing medicines,\n\nMake sure you have correct posture.  Correct posture can give the appearance of a taller person. In some cases, if you slouch, you can add an inch or two by standing straight.\n\nCorrect posture will also prevent you from losing hieght as you age.
193214
There are also a lot of births. People, in general, are living longer.
170528
No, but there is evidence that it was "designed" to wear out and get old.  A region of the chromosome called the telomere is reduced in size with each cell division, once the cell has replicated so much that the telomere is gone, replication comes to a halt and the person eventually dies
341309
We age slower compared to those that seem stationary.  However, absolute time is irrelivent because everyone experiences time dependent only on themselves.  The lorenz transforms that arise in special relativity show that if you are moving faster than the surroundings time will seem the same to you but you will see everyone else moving faster than you, time will be proceeding at a faster rate to them. You would not age faster when you slow because time is not absolute so you don't need to keep up.  Yes runners have prolonged youth but they are too tired to realize it.
283469
Well, generally, how one adapts to changes in the life span--growing older, etc.  Our social circles can stop growing, or shrink, activity level slows, cognitive processing may go slow, and inhibitory processes in thought lessen.  Etc.
331168
its great when  your young and have a lot of energy. but as you get older you eventually slow down. well most people do.
395340
I GUESS IT MUST BE AS WHEN I GAVE BIRTH TO MY FIRST CHILD AT THE AGE OF 19, I DISCOVERED TO MY AMAZEMENT THAT I HAD GONE FROM 5' 2.25" TO 5' 3" AND AFTER MY SECOND CHILD WHEN I WAS 24, I WENT UP TO 5' 3.5" AND HAVE REMAINED THERE FOR THE LAST 17 YEARS ALSO POSTURE HELPS A LOT ESPECIALLY IF YOU GET A "DOWAGERS HUMP" THEN EXERCISING THE UPPER BODY WILL HELP AS I HAVE SEEN THE RESULTS ON AN OLD WOMAN!!
1058609
Our body gives subtle signs of aging early on. Flexibility begins to decline in our 20s. Muscle strength begins to decline in our early 40s. We may have trouble balancing. Walking helps with muscle strength, flexibility, and balance. It offsets the effects of aging in other words.
1177394
generally, yes.  this is primarily the result of better nutrition and healthcare, as is most evident in the chinese population.  whereas 2 or three generations ago, the majority of chinese lived mostly on rice and were quite small, with the introduction of greater variety into their diet they grow tremendously.\nso yes, people are getting taller, and it is probably more evident in countries that until recently were very poor.
214245
Old age is the major cause of disability in older people.
1103951
Even if we could travel fast enough and overcome the energy constraints, there is another problem: the person would not perceive any increase in life span. In that person's reference frame, the person would appear to age as normal and would experience the same apparent lifespan.
214499
It all has to do with altitude. The higher you are from the earth, the colder it gets. Air is also thinner.
1162704
Do you possibly mean "elders" as in elderly people?  If so, may elderly people do very much like children, but some don't.  This could be for a number of reasons:\n\n* Because little ones move so fast they may be afraid that they will get knocked down and hurt.\n\n* Because many young ones these days are not taught manners and this disgusts the older ones.\n\n* Because many kids are bored around adults and the elderly ones don't know what activities to do with the kids. \n\n* Because they've already finished raising their own chlidren and they are simply too tired to spend much more time with younger ones.\n\nDoes that help?
482200
Because when a person steps forward, their stride is longer from years of experience and balance.  When you try to step back, you are stepping blindly...(unless you have eyes in the back of your head) or turn your head around.  The body is more cautious stepping back for saftey reasons, therefore, the steps in reverse are smaller.  As a result it takes more smaller steps to undo less larger steps.  It is usually more difficult to undo things than it is to do them...Take the toothpase analogy for example...it's easier to squeeze it out than to put it back in the tube.
72524
As you get older you realize how quickly life goes by.  You wonder what is after life on this earth and thus, many older people will read the bible more.
641923
Most of these answers are incorrect. The telomeric shortening hypothesis is not a good one, because some organisms lack telomerase (the enzyme responsible for lenghtening telomeres) and are immortal (like bacteria - though they have circular genomes, and are therefore not a good example). More likely, aging has to do with Insulin signaling and Homeobox gene regulation. However, the truth is that no one knows why we grow old, or why cells begin to produce less collagen and elastin as we age (the reason for wrinkles and other symptoms of aging like degreased vital capacity in respiration).