title: Sex and sex steroids: impact on the kinetics of fatty acids underlying body shape.
abstract: Adult humans have a remarkable sexual dimorphism in body shape. Men tend to store relatively more fat in the upper body whereas women store more fat in the lower body. We do not have a complete understanding of the mechanisms underlying these differences, but we know that people who preferentially store abdominal fat are at greater risk of metabolic disease. It is also known that the changes in sex steroid concentrations during puberty and again with advancing age are accompanied by changes in body fat distribution. The objective of this review is to describe what has been learned regarding the mechanisms underlying changes in regional body fat distribution that occur as a result of changes in sex hormones and to delineate effects of sex steroids in modulating body composition.
authors.forename: Sylvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Santosa
authors.forename: Michael D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Jensen
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000378:metabolism; D001823:Body Composition; D050218:Body Fat Distribution; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D050356:Lipid Metabolism; D008297:Male; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012737:Sex Factors
chemical_list: D005227:Fatty Acids; D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones