It’s common knowledge that women typically store fat on their hips and thighs. Men, on the other hand, accumulate more fat around the waistline and abdominal area. Why is that? Perhaps more important, is it significant?
Here’s the skinny.
Steven Smith, M.D. says, “The answer still isn’t clear, but it’s an issue worth investigating.” Dr. Smith is director of the Florida Hospital – Sanford-Burnham Translational Research Institute for Metabolism and Diabetes. It’s worth investigating because belly fat is associated with higher risks of heart disease and diabetes. However, hip and thigh fat don’t seem to play a special role in these conditions.1
In new study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, Smith and colleagues help explain this discrepancy by determining how belly and thigh fat differ genetically.1
The researchers note the genes active in a person’s belly fat are significantly different from those in his or her thigh fat.1
This research might shift common thinking about fat—rather than focusing on how to banish belly fat, perhaps we need to tip the balance in favor of heart-friendly fat in the lower body. In that case, the study also provides a first step toward aiming treatments at specific regions of the body, especially those that contribute most to the complications of obesity.1
“Fat distribution differs in men and women, but in both sexes, a predominantly gluteal-femoral compared with abdominal (central) fat distribution is associated with lower metabolic risk. Differences in cellular characteristics and metabolic functions of these depots have been described, but the molecular mechanisms involved are not understood.”2
References
1 http://beaker.sanfordburnham.org/2013/01/belly-fat-differs-from-thigh-fat/
2 http://jcem.endojournals.org/content/98/1/36
Source: K. Karastergiou, S. K. Fried, H. Xie, M.-J. Lee, A. Divoux, M. A. Rosencrantz, R. J. Chang, S. R. Smith. Distinct Developmental Signatures of Human Abdominal and Gluteal Subcutaneous Adipose Tissue Depots. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2012; 98 (1): 362 DOI: 10.1210/jc.2012-2953
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