Do bones ever stop getting bigger?!

[Jessie2345679]

I’m 42 and I’m pretty sure that I’m not plumper than I was 10 years ago, in the sense that my tum and thighs are the same shape as they were. However, some of the clothes that fitted me then are now too small! Likewise, clothes that fitted me at 22 were too small at 32. This leads me to conclude that my bones must have got bigger, and I’m wondering - does this ever stop?!

If you’re in your 50s, 60s, or 70s, are you bigger than in the past without being plumper?!

@Spaceprincess Just thinking, though - even if your bone density doesn’t increase, is it not possible that bones can get bigger, with the density remaining the same?

No. Bones don’t get bigger.

So there you have it, you've gained an inch around your hips and waist so you've just put on weight over the years, but bones have stayed the same.

Your pelvis expands when you are pregnant.
Your waist gets less defined in middle age.

Clothes from 2 years ago were smaller in the waist than today's clothes.

20 not 2.

Also you may weigh the same but less of it is muscles, so you may be bigger.

Well...

Bones no longer grow in length from about your mid 20s.

However; bones can grow in thickness after that, in response to increased muscle activity, or weight. (appositional growth)

Though unless you are a bodybuilder, OP, in your case it's almost certain that you've just put on a bit of weight!

training.seer.cancer.gov/anatomy/skeletal/growth.html

@Rangoon

Your rib cage can expand in pregnancy but that's not more bone - just rearranged. My rib cage is still a tiny bit wider than it was.

Was it here that I read that opera singers had bigger rib cages?

"Your waist gets less defined in middle age."

No bones in the waist though, are there?

What am I reading? Have you been drinking, op?

That's nitpicking Gwenhwyfar, you know what I mean.

I weigh about the same as I did 20 yrs ago but my the clothes are tight.
I think that I was more willing to wear a tight waistband then.

Clothes sizing is more generous now.

@PamDemic As I mentioned, I have measured my waist and hips and they are both an inch bigger than they used to be, so I am bigger. What was puzzling me was that my stomach and thighs were the same shape, i.e. not bulging, so that made me think it was my bones that had got bigger. And the link I shared earlier says that research shows the pelvic bone gets bigger throughout life. I wondered whether this is true of all bones. However, as other people do not seem to think this, I am concluding that I have just put on weight.

In all honesty, I am still puzzled, though. When I was 30 I went through a slightly plumper phase, and when I stood with my feet together, the insides of my thighs touched. Now they don’t. But jeans that fitted me then are now too small at the hips. Don’t know whether weight can move from thighs to hips?!

Weight (fat stores) definitely moves, more often to waist. You could have lost a bit from one area, gained In another. And depending on exercise, your lean muscle mass could have increased (mine has) which can alter clothes too. Most often it’s probably just a bit of chub! But if you’ve only put on an inch, you are basically doing pretty well

For some reason I had not thought to measure myself

^

Can we be friends?

Your shape does change as you get older so of course fat depositions might no longer go on your thighs but on your hips. At 42 your hormones will start dipping. It’s why some women say in peri menopause 5tcag the fat leaves their ass & heads to their belly(not literally sand fat!).

Well that's a nuisance, I was pinning my hopes on that being the reason for my increased size.
My next most credible reason is that I'm absorbing air through the pores of my skin.

@Butterer I’m still giggling at the first post. Haven't you noticed that most elderly people aren't absolutely fucking massive?

This made me laugh

you cannot gain any bone mass after this according to her research, only maintain it, or more commonly lose it. All the calcium and weight bearing exercise in the world won't make your bone density increase

@Spaceprincess sorry but that is not right at all. Not sure where you got that info from .

I lost bone density in my late 40s and as a result of exercises targeting the areas, more calcium and some HRT (later not at first) I have increased the density year on year so it is now normal and no longer severely osteopenic. The rate of increase was up to 3% a year measured by scanning.

@Jessie2345679 some women find their pelvis widens after pregnancy to allow for the delivery. But this would be obvious at the time. I have one rib that is slightly out of position compared to pre-pregnancy. Otherwise your bones do not grow.

Your nose and earlobes do however! The tip of your nose grows- it's gravity- and earlobes- have you seen the size of old men's ! :)

Your body composition will have changed.
Muscle is far more dense than fat so if you’ve lost muscle tone you can gain a greater volume of fat but remain the same weight

Have you had children OP? My shape changed after 2 DC. I kept my favourite dress for neaely 8 years as it was my goal to one day get back to my pre-baby weight and for it to fit again. I finally did it and got back into the dress but it didn't fit quite as well, my waist definitely isn't as slim as it was despite being the same weight.

After 8 years, the dress went off to the charity shop.