As a child, do you remember comparing your height to each relative who stood still for five minutes? Do you remember your joy at slowly growing bigger than an aunt or your mother?

As an adult, when you revisited some of these now-aging ladies, were you surprised to find that they were shorter than you remembered? Did you just chalk it up to you being taller now as an adult?

The fact is that their female relatives may have lost several inches in height. They could, in fact, be shrinking…

The average woman can lose between 2 ½ and eight inches from her height once she reaches menopause. Many medical experts once believed that this loss was inevitable. Now the medical community realizes that it is not.

Height loss is linked to osteoporosis, which is a decrease in bone density. While this occurs in both men and women, it is more common, and more noticeable, in women. One of the best ways to prevent this, in addition to taking calcium supplements, is through a regular exercise routine.

As you reach your 40s, it becomes increasingly vital to start a regular exercise program. Retaining your bone mass (and therefore your height) is just one of the benefits of exercise. Staying in shape reduces the risk of developing any of a number of health problems associated with the cardiovascular system, diabetes, and even cancer.

Before embarking on your new routine, you must prioritize the choice of an exercise or group of exercises that give you a feeling of pleasure.

Don’t jump on any trendy exercise because it seems to be popular. Before you commit, ask yourself what activities you could envision yourself participating in for the rest of your life. If you really enjoy the specific exercise, you are much more likely to stick with it faithfully.

Consider, however, some form of weight-bearing exercise. This type of activity helps to strengthen the bones through the stimulation of the mineralization and remodeling process. Each major muscle in your body is attached to an underlying bone by tendons. Every time you contract a muscle, a force is exerted on that bone. Any activity, in fact, that builds muscle also puts stress on your bone and helps build bone mass.

While activities like yoga and tai chi build bone mass, one of the best-known ways is through weight lifting. Now, before you start forming images in your head of what you think the average weightlifter looks like, let’s just add something. Weightlifting isn’t necessarily the domain of just those testosterone-fueled men looking to build their muscles. And if you decide to lift weights, you don’t have to worry about building overstretched muscles like female weightlifters do.

But there are some outstanding and amazing benefits that come along with this particular exercise. Just read the results of this study by Miriam Nelson, Ph.D. from Tufts University.

Dr. Nelson took two groups of postmenopausal women. Neither group was taking hormone replacement therapy nor were any groups already enrolled in a fitness program at the start of the study.

One group remained sedentary, the other began a simple weight lifting program. They only exercised twice a week for 40 minutes at a time. At the end of a year, the woman who lifted weights had vastly improved her strength test results. In fact, her scores matched those of women in their 30s and 40s. And almost all of the women lost inches, if not weight, without changing their diets.

But the most delicious transformation of these women was seen in how they spent their free time. They were freed from the sedentary life they once lived. Some of these postmenopausal women started canoeing… others started going dancing regularly… and still others participated in rollerblading.

The bottom line is that there are few “physical obligations” for women over 40. In fact, the only real “must” in the realm of fitness is to pick an activity or two and stick with it. The more active you stay, the stronger your bones will be…the taller you’ll stay for the rest of your long and healthy life!