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moobs

Man boobs.  A strange topic, but I have to agree with this piece on the BBC that there seem to be more and more men about sporting breasts.

Increase in male breast reduction surgery

The piece makes a case that it is not about obesity but about a variety of medical conditions that promote the growth of breast tissue.  Maybe.  However, there are a lot of guys who are developing fat chests rather than breast tissue  or what we used to call bitch tits.

When I was fatter I used to have a fat chest and as a teenager  I was made fun of in the changing room for having "tits".  It was fat though.  As I've leaned out over the years, I've lost them.  

Surgery is maybe too easy a way out.  Yes there are those with medical conditions that require surgery, but maybe others could do with simple fat loss?

Comments

Anonymous said…
I agree that much of the moobs issue can be dealt with through fat loss and some pushups -- But there is also an issue with hormones in our foods (especially beef and dairy products) as well as the new trend towards soy and soy proteins (which are in essentially every product these days). These hormones, and the soy are extremely estrogenic and we are consuming significant quantities. I know of at least one man who was tested and found to have high levels of estrogen in his system. Through diet and testosterone changes he came back to normal AND lost his moobs...
November 29, 2012 at 12:54 PM
Chris said…
That is a good point. I have no doubt that there are hormonal issues at play too.
November 29, 2012 at 12:55 PM
Javeux said…
Doesn't fat itself promote a poor estrogen/testosterone ratio? I doubt insulin resistance helps much either. Losing fat is an obvious first step before you start messing with surgery or hormonal treatments.

It sounds simple, and with the likes of HIIT, resistance training and a nutritious diet, maybe it is. How many people are going to get access to the right information though, and how many are going to attempt a hopeless low-fat, low-protein, low-calorie diet and jog endlessly?

As for food sources of estrogen, a fact sheet I saw before showed a glass of milk didn't even contain a 100th of a percent of what a man produces in a day, but a tbs of soy oil has about 20%.
November 29, 2012 at 2:39 PM
Beck said…
Dang you're lean.

On another note, I love this band but when you say "moobs", this is what comes to mind. Great band out of Chicago, but you won't be hearing anything 3 seconds into the video. You'll just stare! Ack!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5f0_xO6wbtc
November 29, 2012 at 8:05 PM
Asclepius said…
The question that follows a surgical intervention is 'are the (hormonal) conditions that led to the development of moobs in the first place still in place?'

The success of surgery may be only temporary.
November 30, 2012 at 2:03 AM
Frankwa said…
"Doesn't fat itself promote a poor estrogen/testosterone ratio?"

Exactly what I was thinking of. If I remember correctly, visceral fat is the worst considering aromatase (and basically the worst for everything about health).

And look what we've got one most of the picture of moobs…

So loosing fat will benefits in two different ways.


BTW I'm a heroe of visceral fat (my abs have always been visible, yet I sometimes had a big belly), and intermitent fasting works very well for me. Just sayin'…
November 30, 2012 at 5:06 AM
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