By the time most of us reach age 20 or so, the bones in our body are pretty much done growing. The growth platesย that cause us to put on inchesย in our youth are now hardened bone, and in fact, adults tend to drop an inch or two in height asย worn-out cartilage causes our spines to shrinkย over time. However, there are a few bones that buck this biological trend. Skulls, for example, never fully stop growing, and the bones also shift as we age. A 2008ย study from Duke Universityย determined that as we grow older, the forehead moves forward, while cheek bones tend to move backward. As the skull tilts forward, overlying skin droops and sags.
The skull isnโt the only bone that has a positive correlation with age. Human hips also continue to widen as the decades pass, meaning those extra inches arenโtย onlyย due to a loss of youthful metabolism. In 2011, researchers from theย University of North Carolina School of Medicineย discovered that hips continue to grow well into our 70s, and found that an average 79-year-oldโs pelvic width was 1 inch wider than an average 20-year-oldโs. So while itโsย mostlyย true that humans stop growing after the age of 20, nature always likes to throw in a few exceptions to the rule.
Media Release/InterestingFacts.com
