I was wondering if your body gets whatever is considers the “low hanging fruit” first and would remove visceral fat last.

If so are there targeted diets for that specific fat?

  • Exocrinous@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    4
    arrow-down
    3
    ·
    6 months ago

    Estrogen causes distribution of fat to move from visceral to subcutaneous. That’s the reason “beer bellies” are usually seen on men, and why women usually have a “softer” or curvier physique. For overweight trans people, fat distribution can be a source of dysphoria. A lot of trans women are upset to have big bellies, and a lot of trans men are upset to be curvy. Hormones will change a person’s fat distribution in a couple of years. The matter of where under the skin subcutaneous fat settles, though, isn’t changeable by hormones.

    • HelixDab2@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      6 months ago

      Interesting. Is there a specific estrogen that causes that? I know that I used to get Arimidex (an aromatase inhibitor) from my doctor along with my weekly testosterone cypionate shot to block the aromatization into estradiol.

      I know that excess estradiol levels can do other weird things in men too, like gynecomastia.

    • RBWells@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      edit-2
      6 months ago

      Plenty of women put on belly fat too though. Most of us aren’t the hourglass type. I do understand what you are saying though, thanks.

      • Exocrinous@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        arrow-down
        3
        ·
        6 months ago

        Belly fat is a combination of visceral and subcutaneous. Even if you mostly have subcutaneous fat, a lot of that can still be on the belly. The difference is that visceral fat is among the organs and contributes to organ failure risk. It’s also below the tummy muscles. Subcutaneous belly fat is above the tummy muscles. This is why a man’s belly is more likely to be hard, while a woman’s belly is more likely to be soft.