WHAT GETS LONGER

FEET:

Have you noticed your once size seven shoes now feel a bit snug? There are several reasons behind this change. Over the years, our feet tend to elongate as they flatten under the constant pressure of our body weight. This daily strain causes the tendons and ligaments to lose their elasticity, leading to less effective support for the foot’s 26 bones. Consequently, the feet spread out more. However, other factors might also be contributing to your increase in shoe size.

Aging can lead to leaky veins, resulting in fluid retention in the feet and ankles, causing them to swell. Additionally, the development of bunions, which are bony protrusions at the base of the big toe, can further enlarge the feet. A study published in the journal Foot & Ankle International last year indicated that bunions can increase foot length by up to 8mm and width by 4mm. This may clarify why research has shown that after the age of 40, individuals can experience a 3-4mm increase in foot length per decade.

NOSES:

Similarly, your nose may also appear larger over time. Composed of soft, flexible tissue, the nose loses elasticity with age, leading to a droopier appearance. According to a 2002 study in the American Journal of Medical Genetics, which analyzed 500 noses, the average nose lengthens by about 5mm from middle age to late old age. Additionally, as we age, the fat pads in our cheeks diminish, making our faces look thinner and causing the nose to seem more prominent.

Moreover, another facial feature that elongates is the philtrum—the groove running from the base of the nose to the upper lip. Research indicates this area extends from approximately 1.8cm to nearly 2cm as our faces gradually lengthen due to the effects of gravity.

TEETH:

Although we do not literally get “longer in the tooth”, it looks as though we do. When we are younger, our front teeth measure on average around 10-12mm. But as we age, they start to look lengthier because our gums start to recede. This exposes more of the tooth, going up to the root. This means that, in later old age, teeth can end up looking as long as 15-17 mm.

Dentist Dr Parveen Dehal – of londonsmiling.com – says: “Over time, our gums recede due to factors like gum disease due to bacteria build-up causing inflammation or over-brushing or natural thinning of tissues. Our lips get thinner too, exposing more of the tooth. This makes them look longer even though they have stayed the same length.

EYEBROWS:

While the growth rate that our head hair slows by as much as a third as we get older – probably due to less efficient blood circulation to our scalps – the hairs on other parts of our bodies grow longer than ever before. These include the hairs on the inside of our ears, our eyebrows and nostrils, where hairs can grow as long as 2-3cm in later life. One possible reason is their stimulation by the androgen hormones. As levels of counter-balancing female hormones drop in both men and women as we age, this allows the male hormones to stimulate the hair follicles in these areas.

Another reason, says trichologist Iain Sallis of hairmedic.co.uk, is the cells that govern the growth cycle of the hairs don’t work as efficiently as we age. This means the hair follicles in these areas may not be getting the message to stop growing, he says.

BREASTS:

Breasts are held in place by a network of connective tissue called Cooper’s ligaments. These threads connect the breast tissue and milk ducts to the inside of the skin and outer fat layer, acting like a kind of internal bra.As our breasts develop in puberty, these ligaments start off being only 2 to 3cm long. However, over time, the pull of gravity can stretch them as much as 11 cm. This is a process known as ptosis, which is graded on a scale of one to four. In young breasts, the nipple is usually above the line where the base of the breast meets the ribcage. By stage two, the nipple is around one to three inches below that point.

At stage three, the breast hangs more than 3cm below, with the nipple often pointing down to the floor. As well as the effects of gravity, dropping oestrogen levels also play their part. This is because after levels of this hormone drop off during menopause, our milk ducts and glands shrivel. The connective tissue which makes breasts firm also gets replaced by fat. This is heavier and less able to withstand the pull of gravity.

EAR LOBES:

Earlobes are made of skin and fatty connective tissue. This makes them soft, flexible, but also more prone to stretching. A review in the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery: Global Open earlier this year found that earlobe length increases by about 30 to 35% between 20 and 60. This is because the skin and connective tissues gradually lose elasticity and stretch under the pull of gravity.

WHAT GETS SHORTER

SPINE:

Not as tall as you once were? It’s not your imagination. Your spine starts shrinking after your mid-thirties. Tim Allardyce, osteopath and physiotherapist at surreyphysio.co.uk, says: “As we age, we tend to lose height, but the change is very small at first. By around the age of 50 and above, you may notice a very small reduction in height. By the age of 70, that height reduction can be more pronounced and occasionally as much as 2 to 3 cm.”

One reason is that the discs between our vertebrae, which act as shock absorbers for the spine, lose fluid and flatten out. Tim adds: “As we age, the discs dehydrate and lose height. There are 23 discs in the spine, and if they each lose 1mm of height, that could add up to a loss of around 2cm.”

PENIS:

Men may prefer not to face up to the fact, but over time the penis becomes shorter. As the years go on, the arteries in the organ clog up with fatty deposits called plaque, in the same way as it builds up in the heart’s blood vessels, making circulation more difficult. This means it does not fill up with blood as efficiently as it once did. Over time, the penis also doesn’t reach the same length when erect due to a drop in the collagen levels in the erectile tissues, preventing it from stretching as far.

A 2007 study in the journal BJU International measured 1,661 men aged 17 to 91. It found that on average the length of a stretched penis went down by 0.12 cm per decade. The erect length went down by 0.7cm every year. Getting a beer belly won’t help either as this can make the penis look smaller – an effect called “hidden penis”.

NAILS:

Have you noticed your fingernails don’t grow as fast as they used to? As we age, they grow at about a third of the rate they did when we were younger. They grow fastest in our teens when it hits a growth rate of about 3-4mm a month. After the age of 20, this drops off by about 0.5% a year, probably as blood supply to the tips of the fingers becomes less efficient, a study published in the Indian Journal of Dermatology says. Trichologist Iain Sallis adds: “Issues like mineral deficiencies, medical problems like hormonal imbalances, and some medications can all get in the way of cell production and slow down their growth.”