Why your fat falls in different areas than his

Posted Wednesday, May 26, 2010 - New Beauty Magazine

It doesn’t take a doctor to see that men and women carry fat differently. Men tend to pack it on in the belly, whereas women will find fat accumulating in their hips, butt and thighs. But while the difference may be apparent, the reason hasn’t been.

Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center recently analyzed fat genes in mice, who have a similar sex-based fat distribution pattern to humans. They found that male and female mice have very few fat genes in common. Therefore, male and female fat cells behave in completely different ways, giving way to dimorphic fat placement.

Women do have an advantage when it comes how where our fat tends to build up. Fat on the hips, thighs and butt is subcutaneous and therefore treatable with liposuction. However, belly fat in men is typically visceral and too deep to be treated with liposuction. The only way to reduce this kind of fat, which is considered a health risk, is with diet and exercise.

What the Expert Says…

Dr. Michael A. Epstein | Plastic Surgeon
There is no question that there is a clear difference in the way men and women tend to collect fat deposits on the body. I believe that these differences are anthropological in nature. Women tend to put fat on the upper, outer and inner thighs as well as the hips(waistline) and the lower abdomen to protect the womb for child bearing. Fortunately for them this fat is more accessible and therefore treatable by various body contouring operations. Although it is almost unheard of for a man to have a female fat distribution pattern, I have seen the occasional woman with more typical male fat distribution. There is another difference between fat on men and women and it actually pertains to the quality or intrinsic makeup of this fatty tissue. While the subcutaneous fat that is retrievable in most of the female population is more loose and globular, the typical male fat seems to be more dense and more entrenched in a richer fibrous network making it more difficult to remove by liposuction.

 

 

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