short stature

Short stature refers to a height of a human being which is below expected. Shortness is a vague term without a precise definition and with significant relativity to context. Because of the lack of preciseness, there is often disagreement about the degree of shortness that should be called short. Shortness in children and young adults nearly always results from below-average growth in childhood, while shortness in older adults usually results from loss of height due to kyphosis of the spine or collapsed vertebrae from osteoporosis.
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