Estrogen helps ward off belly fat

University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas researcher Deborah Clegg recently announced her answer to a question she was surprised no one had ever asked: “Are male fat cells the same as female fat cells?” It has long been known that men and post-menopausal women tend to collect fat in their abdomen around their internal organs, and pre-menopausal women tend to collect their fat subcutaneously (just under the skin). The subcutaneous fat is a much healthier form than the abdominal form. This is what led Clegg to ask the question. She also noted that most researchers do not like to work with female rats due to their 4 day estrous cycle. However, she pointed out that male and female rats have a similar fat distribution to that of male and female humans respectively.

In her research, she removed the ovaries from female rats, and the rats’ fat distribution shifted as it does in post-menopausal women. When she removed the ovaries but gave the rats estrogen injections every 4 days (simulating the rats’ natural cycle), the fat did not shift. In order to further examine the effects of estrogen on fat cells, she genetically engineered male and female rats that were lacking the gene that enabled them to grow the “estrogen receptor alpha”(ER-alpha) on the surface of their cells. Her studies indicate that the binding of estrogen to the ER-alpha molecules is what enables the cells to break down fat. Females have a higher number of ER-alpha molecules than males do. When examining male fat cells for obesity-related health conditions, Clegg’s team found that the male fat cells were alarmingly unhealthy. Clegg concluded by stating that estrogen plays a key role in maintaining healthy fat cells in both males and females.

I find this article interesting because the obesity rate in the United States has risen so much. Scientific discovery should provide a means of making people healthier. There are many different types of research working toward reducing obesity in people, but until we know which one will be the most fruitful, they should all continue. Obviously, more research needs to be done before we start haphazardly injecting estrogen into men with the hopes of reducing their fat deposits, but a more thorough understanding of what causes and effects of fat distribution is the first step toward solving the problem overall.

Article: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/48646/title/Estrogen_helps_ward_off_belly_fat

Peter "Alex" Smith
VTPP 434-501