Why Do We Stop Growing Up After A Certain Age?
We know that all living things grow. It is a natural process. The plants, birds, animals and human beings starts growing up just after the conception. In human beings, the foetus develops in the mother’s womb during the first nine months and it keeps on growing after the birth also. At the time of birth the child is about 50cms high and the height becomes more than triple in the next 20 years. At the age of 20 to 22 years man stops growing up.
Do you know how man grows up and why he stops growing after certain age?
Actually, our body grows with the help of proteins. Vegetables, meat eggs, fish, fruits, seeds, grains, milk and its products are the main sources of proteins. The proteins get converted into amino acids during the process of digestion. The cells and tissues are produced by these amino acids. Minerals like magnesium, sodium, iron, potassium, phosphates and calcium also play important role in the physical growth. Proteins and minerals produce muscles, tissues and bones. Proteins also help to repair the broken cells. Why do we stop growing up after a certain age? Actually, our growth is controlled by the endocrine glands of our body. These endocrine glands are pituitary gland, thyroid gland, thymus gland and some sex glands. Pituitary gland is situated in brain and it controls the growth of the bones. Thyroid gland is located in throat. When a child is born, his thymus gland is very large, but after the age of 13 or 14 years it starts shrinking and at that stage sex glands start controlling the growth of the body. At the age of 20 to 24 the body gets the full maturity and after that the body stops growing up, because after this age the glands which are responsible for growth become less active. But there is very slow continuous growth even after the age of 35 to 40 years. The body starts contracting after this age. After the age of 40 it contracts about one centimeter every ten years. This contraction is because of the drying up of the cartilages in our spinal column and joints. The rate of growth depends upon the season. In summer the children grow faster than in winter. Nutritious food also helps us to grow faster. You will be surprised to know that we are a little taller every morning as compared to the previous evening. Hence we become slightly shorter in day time.Category: Health, Human Body