You're not just getting older. You're probably getting shorter, too.
不光在变老,还有可能在变矮。
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,
spinalfractures and even heart disease, particularly in men, several recent studies have found.
身材变矮是自然衰老过程的一部分,有些人的身材早在30岁就开始逐渐萎缩。然而,最近的多项研究发现,矮得太快太多可能标志着发生髋骨骨折、脊柱骨折甚至是罹患心脏病的风险较高,尤其是对男性而言。
'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.'
哈佛医学院(Harvard Medical School)的附属机构希伯来老化医学研究所(Hebrew Senior Life)的流行病学家汉南(Marian Hannan)说,如果你是女性,年龄在45岁到65岁之间,并注意到自己正在变矮,那么这非常正常。如果你是男性,那么这可能是一个危险的信号,说明你应该找医生谈谈了。
It's not
uncommon to
shrink by a quarter to a third of an inch every
decade after age 40. Think of a house settling on its
foundation. Disks -- the gel-like pads between vertebrae -- lose fluid over the years and
flatten. Muscles lose mass and
weaken, especially in the
abdomen, which can exacerbate poor
posture. Even the arches of the foot
flatten out
slightly, reducing
height by a few millimeters more.
40岁以后,每10年变矮1/4-1/3英寸的情形是很常见的。建在地基上的房子也是如此。椎间盘(脊椎之间的胶状软垫)会逐年丧失水分,逐渐变扁。肌肉则日渐萎缩松弛(尤其是腹部的肌肉,身材亦会因肌肉松弛而变形得更加严重)。即使是足弓也会稍稍变平,使身高降低几毫米。
The process accelerates with age, particularly after age 70. In one long-
running study of more than 2,000 Baltimore residents, men lost an average of 1.2 inches between ages 30 and 70, and a total of 2 inches by age 80. Women lost an average of 2 inches between 30 and 70 and 3.1 inches total by age 80.
这个过程随着年龄的增大会不断加速,尤其是在70岁以后。在一项对2,000多名巴尔的摩(Baltimore)居民进行的长期调查中,男性在30岁至70岁之间平均变矮1.2英寸,到80岁总计变矮2英寸。女性在30岁至70岁之间平均变矮2英寸,到80岁总计变矮3.1英寸。
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
adequatecalcium and vitamin D, and doing regular weight-bearing exercise can help stave it off, although having strong genes also helps.
吸烟、过量饮酒或咖啡、极端的节食行为或是服用类固醇和其他药物都会加速身材变矮。坚持健康饮食、摄入足量钙和维生素D、定期负重锻炼都有助于延缓这一过程。当然,拥有良好的基因也有所助益。
When people
shrink more or faster, the biggest concern is osteoporosis, in which bones become weak, brittle and vulnerable to breakage.
如果人们变矮得较多或较快,最大的问题是骨质疏松。一旦出现这种症状,骨头会变得脆弱,容易折断。
Dr. Hannan's study, in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research last week, found that men over age 70 who lose 2 or more inches in two years have a 54% higher risk of fracturing a hip in the next two years than men who lose less
height. Elderly women who lose that much
height that fast have a 21% higher risk of hip
fracture, said the study, which examined data from over 3,000 adults from the Framingham Heart Study.
汉南博士上周发表在《骨矿盐研究杂志》(Journal of Bone and Mineral Research)上的研究发现,两年内变矮两英寸或更多的70岁以上的男性在接下来两年发生髋骨骨折的风险比变矮较少的男性高出54%。这项研究还声称,两年内变矮两英寸或更多的老年女性发生髋骨骨折的风险比变矮较少的女性高21%。这项研究对来自弗雷明汉心脏研究(Framingham Heart Study)的3,000多名成年人的数据进行了分析。
Height loss is also a marker for heart disease in men. A large study of British men, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine in 2006, found that men who lost 1.2 inches or more over 20 years were 46% more likely to have suffered from coronary heart disease, and 64% more likely to have died from any cause than men who lost less
height.
身材变矮也是男性心脏病变的标志之一。2006年发表于《内科学文献》(Archives of Internal Medicine)的一项对英国男性进行的大型研究发现,在20年中变矮1.2英寸或更多的男性与变矮较少的男性相比,罹患冠心病的概率高出46%,因各种原因致死的概率高出64%。
Why is
height loss in men more telling than in women? Because men typically have more
muscle mass than women and lose bone more slowly,
underlying health problems may be much more
advanced by the time the
height loss becomes
apparent, says Sundeep Khosla, an endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
为什么男性身材变矮比女性身材变矮更能说明问题呢?位于明尼苏达州罗切斯特市(Rochester)的梅奥诊所(Mayo Clinic)的内分泌专家科斯拉(Sundeep Khosla)说,这是因为男性的肌肉量通常比女性更多,骨质流失更慢,因此在身材明显变矮时健康问题可能已经发展得较为严重。
For both men and women, many of the common diseases of aging -- including osteoporosis, heart disease and respiratory problems -- go hand in hand. 'If you have one of these risk factors, that may increase your risk of having others,' says Dr. Khosla, who is president of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research, a
professional organization of osteoporosis specialists.
对于男性和女性来说,许多常见的老年病,包括骨质疏松、心脏病和呼吸系统问题都是相伴发生的。美国骨矿盐学会(American Society for Bone and Mineral Research,一个由研究骨质疏松的专家组成的专业组织)会长科斯拉博士说,如果你有这些风险因素中的一种,那么你有其它因素的风险就会增加。"
He and other experts say that keeping close tabs on patients'
heights can be a simple and
inexpensive way for doctors to stay alert to other health problems.
他以及其他专家都表示,密切监测病人的身高可能是提醒医生注意该病人其他健康问题的一种简单而廉价的方法。
Height loss can alert doctors to osteoporosis that other tests miss, particularly those that
measure bone
density in the wrist or hip. In a study in the
journal Bone in February, University of Pittsburgh
researchers found that for each inch that patients over 65 had lost from their tallest adult
height, their chance of having a vertebral
fracture increased by 20%. While some are
extremely
painful, vertebral
fractures are often asymptomatic until the spine begins to collapse.
身材变矮可以提醒医生注意其他检查,尤其是测量腕骨或髋骨密度的检查遗漏的骨质疏松问题。在2月份发表于《骨骼》(Bone)杂志上的一项研究中,美国匹兹堡大学(University of Pittsburgh)的研究人员发现,65岁以上的病人与其最高成年身材相比每变矮1/2英寸,脊椎骨折的机率就增加20%。尽管有些脊椎骨折极其疼痛,但在脊椎开始彻底断裂之前通常是没有症状的。
Not
everyone loses
height as they get older. Some 20% of people don't
shrinknoticeably thanks to a
combination of genetics and following
healthy habits throughout their lives, experts say.
并不是所有人都会在衰老的过程中变矮。有20%左右的人不会明显变矮,专家称,这要归功于基因和在整个生命过程中保持健康的生活习惯。
Although about 70% of a person's
height is determined by genetics, children need good
nutrition, with plenty of
protein, vitamins and
calcium, to reach their full adult
potential. Prenatal care makes a difference too: If your mother smoked or was malnourished while she was
pregnant, you're probably
slightly shorter than you should be.
尽管人的身高约70%都是由基因决定的,但儿童若要长到成年应有的身高,就需要有良好的营养、足够的蛋白质、维生素和钙质。孕期保健也会产生一定的差异。如果母亲在怀孕期间吸烟或营养不良,那么孩子的身高就可能会略低于应有身高。
Experts say the best way to stave off
height loss and osteoporosis in later years is to build strong bones in
childhood. As well, eating a
healthy diet and consuming sufficient
calcium and vitamin D continue to be crucial for bone health in middle age and beyond.
专家称,避免日后变矮和骨质疏松的最佳方法就是在儿童时期长出强壮的骨骼。健康饮食和摄取足够的钙和维生素D对于中年及以后的骨骼健康也很关键。
Regular weight-bearing exercise, including
running and walking, is important too. Israeli
researchers who
measured more than 2,000 men and women in 1965 and again in 1995 found that those who engaged in
moderatelyvigorous aerobic activity, either throughout their lives or just after age 40, lost only about half as much
height as those who stopped exercising in middle age or never exercised at all.
定期负重锻炼(包括跑步和散步)也很重要。以色列研究人员分别在1965年和1995年对2,000多位男性和女性进行了测量,他们发现,进行中等强度有氧运动的人(不论是终其一生坚持运动还是在40岁以后才开始运动),身材变矮的程度都只有在中年时停止锻炼或从未锻炼过的人的一半左右。