Sign in to wowOwow

Enter the email address that you used when registering at wowOwow.
The password field is case sensitive. Click here if you have forgotten your password.

Please register for wowOwow

Newsletter subscriptions
Sign up to receive wowOwow's weekly newsletter and get our best picks delivered right to your inbox. Our newsletter content is hand-picked by the wowOwow editorial team and provides the top features, news, and commentary from our site. Subscribing to our newsletter is free and safe. We will never share your email or other information with a third-party without your direct consent.
By registering, you indicate that you have read and agree
with our privacy policy and terms of service.
Home › Style

Poll | 10/28/2009 1:00 am

One study from Yale says that women are evolving to become shorter and fatter. In recent years have you shrunk or gotten fatter?

Our witty, fun friends at Lemondrop.com recently highlighted a study by Yale scientists that said in the future women will be shorter and fatter. Are you concerned about this study?
Read more about: Aging, Health, Height, Lemondrop, Weight

50 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

Mandy McNalis
I voted Other because I’ve always been short and somewhat plump since I was a child, so it’s not exactly a change, it’s how I’ve always looked! :)
By Mandy McNalis on 10/28/2009 2:12 am
Autumn Montgomery
I voted "Other." I’ve grown over the years from 5’3" to 5’7" and have remained the same weight (118 lbs.) despite the height increase. My doctor says I’m healthy and can’t really explain why I’ve grown, although I’ve stopped…thus far :-)
By Autumn Montgomery on 10/28/2009 10:18 am
KatyDid Wells

It took us years to get "long" jeans and now they want to take them away!  :)

I’m suppose I’m less concerned about being shorter and fatter, but the study did say that we’d be having more children earlier in life.  Didn’t we already do this?  Instead of evolving, this sounds cyclical to me.

By KatyDid Wells on 10/28/2009 2:15 am
Lizzie R.

10 generations - huh? Something to look forward to for our future family females. As for me - I have shrunk from 5’3 1/2" to 5’2", but my weight has gone from 118 to 108, so I am slowly disappearing. Someday I will merely be a puddle on the ground.

By Lizzie R. on 10/28/2009 3:07 am
Susan Crawford

Lizzie, you made me laugh out loud! I’ve lost stature myself in the past ten years or so - from almost 5’5" down to a little under 5’4", and I, too, have lost a considerable amount of weight. Will I also disappear eventually? And do you remember our own wonderful Lily Tomlin’s great film about the "Incredible Shrinking Woman"? Perhaps we will end up living in a dollhouse! Have a great day, and walk tall, my dear!

By Susan Crawford on 10/28/2009 6:18 am
phyllis Doyle Pepe
Well, Lizzie and Susan, we three can go on the road as the " Incredible Shrinking She-bees." I, too, was 5’5” and now am a little under 5’4" and my weight has always been around 110-115 throughout my life. After I stopped taking estrogen, quit cold turkey, I remember feeling incredibly light. When I had my yearly check-up I had dropped five pounds––next year, another three pounds and I joked with my doctor that I was slowly disappearing so perhaps next visit I would be reduced to a fragment of myself. But then things seemed to get back on track and slowly I am now back to normal. But who knows, we three may end up like Edith Ann, sitting pretty in a chair much too big; tiny, but oh, so much fun to love.
By phyllis Doyle Pepe on 10/28/2009 10:29 am
caren gittleman

OMG I am dying laughing from that question (sorry!!!!!!!!) The answer:

 

HELL YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!

(To both parts)

By caren gittleman on 10/28/2009 6:40 am
Bonnie Schuster
I wish I could laugh.  This is funny in a way, but let me give a different picturs.  If your stature diminishes greatly get a complete physical make sure you don’t have a medical problem.  I have shrunk from 5’7" to 5’3"; why I have degenrative arthritis of the spine.  I have gained weight; why - because I have a chronic illness "Fibromyalgia" and the medicines I’m on for control over this illness have caused water retention giving way to an unacceptable weight gain.  Now to get silly does getting shorter and plumper sound possible ~ maybe lol.  But maybe we’ll revert back to monkeys too hee hee!  But I don’t think it will be in my lifetime ~ ha ha!!!
By Bonnie Schuster on 10/28/2009 7:06 am
Andy C
Now, I’m not only only lying about my weight on my driver’s license, but my height as well.  So, yeah, shrunk, gained weight…did it all.
By Andy C on 10/28/2009 7:07 am
Belinda Joy
I’m 5 -6’ and haven’t noticed any signs of shrinking. But I have definitely gained and loss weight over and over again during the last decade. However I am blessed with a healthy sense of self esteem, so whether I’m fat or thin, I still love myself.
By Belinda Joy on 10/28/2009 7:10 am
Green Tears
To think that I would lose any of my 5’ 1.5" is devastating! As for my weight, there is less of me than there was a year ago - have lost an entire jeans size and there is much less jiggle on my upper arms. One thing that seems like it will never leave is the ledge of flab that resides over my c-section scar - guess I’ll just have to consider it my Maternal Medal of Honor.
By Green Tears on 10/28/2009 8:40 am
Messy ONE

I’m the shortest in a long line of Tall People - "only" 5’ 8" - compared to my cousins. The women average 5’ 10" to 6’ 3" and the men start at 6’ 2" and go up to 6’ 8". I suspect that some of their children are taller than they are.

As for losing height, I have no intention of doing so. I had a hysterectomy three years ago and have been on hormones ever since. I have no intention of ever stopping them, and I do a fair amount of weight-bearing exercise, so losing bone mass won’t be an issue. I have genetics on my side there, too.

Weight IS entirely in your control, barring medical issues. A friend recently pointed out that the usual trend of gaining a pound or two a year amounts to a big whack of extra weight by the time we’re in our 50s, and she’s right. Doctors don’t want to talk about weight and are inclined to "forgive" 20 or 30 pounds extra, but that doesn’t make it all right.   

By Messy ONE on 10/28/2009 8:52 am
Lizzie R.
You still could lose height, as I, too, had a hysterectomy and have been on estrogen ever since then and it was a LONG time ago. Then when I had my ovaries later removed I also started using transdermal testosterone, so my hormones are not deficient. Nevertheless I have lost 1 1/2 inches in height, so hormones are no guarantee
By Lizzie R. on 10/28/2009 10:35 pm
Messy ONE

Losing height is largely a matter of losing bone mass, and as much as i truly hate working out, weight-bearing exercise is the absolute best way to maintain your bones. According to my doctor, you can take calcium and supplements until you’re blue in the face, but exercise is the only way to make a real impact.

Hormones help. Were it not for good old Premarin, millions of women would be almost completely disabled as they age. The recent and false hype around any kind of hormone treatment being dangerous has caused more damage than actually taking the drugs can possibly can. I recently had an appointment with my gynecologist. She told me that you have a higher risk of getting breast cancer if you smoke than if you take hormones for forty years.  

By Messy ONE on 10/29/2009 8:42 am
phyllis Doyle Pepe

There are dangerous side effects of your good old Premarin especially if taken for many years. One has to weigh these risks with whatever benefits you think you are getting. Here’s a link you might find helpful.

 http://menopause.peruvian-maca.com/hormone-replacement-therapy.htm 

By phyllis Doyle Pepe on 10/29/2009 3:11 pm
1234next ›last »