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The DOI matches its Crossref record; 14 of the 14 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Sex differences in fat storage, fat metabolism, and the health risks from obesity: possible evolutionary origins

Open access
Power, Michael L., Schulkin, Jay·2008·British Journal of Nutrition

Abstract

Human beings are susceptible to sustained weight gain in the modern environment. Although both men and women can get fat, they get fat in different ways, and suffer different consequences. We review differences between men and women in the incidence of obesity, fat deposition patterns, fat metabolism, and the health consequences of obesity, and examine potential evolutionary explanations for these differences. Women generally have a larger proportion of body mass as fat, and are more likely to deposit fat subcutaneously and on their lower extremities; men are more likely to deposit fat in the abdominal region. Excess adipose tissue in the abdominal region, especially visceral fat, is associated with more health risks. Women have higher rates of reuptake of NEFA into adipose tissue; however, they also have higher rates of fat oxidation during prolonged exercise. Oestrogen appears to underlie many of these differences. Women bear higher nutrient costs during reproduction. Fat and fertility are linked in women, through leptin. Low leptin levels reduce fertility. Ovarian function of adult women is associated with their fatness at birth. In our evolutionary past food insecurity was a frequent occurrence. Women would have benefited from an increased ability to store fat in easily metabolisable depots. We suggest that the pattern of central obesity, more commonly seen in men, is not adaptive, but rather reflects the genetic drift hypothesis of human susceptibility to obesity. Female obesity, with excess adiposity in the lower extremities, reflects an exaggeration of an adaptation for female reproductive success.

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Metadata

Authors
Power, M. L., & Schulkin, J.
Venue
British Journal of Nutrition
Published
2008-05
Volume
99
Issue
5
Pages
931-940
ISSN
  • 0007-1145 (ISSN-L)
  • 1475-2662
OpenAlex
W2122426204
Cited by
605
References
14
FWCI
3.00
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
bronze

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Sex differences in fat storage, fat metabolism, and the health risks from obesity: possible evolutionary origins. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1017/s0007114507853347
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Power, M. L., & Schulkin, J. (2008). Sex differences in fat storage, fat metabolism, and the health risks from obesity: possible evolutionary origins. British Journal of Nutrition. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0007114507853347

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Contains information from the Semantic Scholar Academic Graph Datasets, made available under the ODC Attribution License (ODC-BY 1.0).

Semantic Scholar’s data is described in: Kinney, R., et al. (2023). The Semantic Scholar Open Data Platform. arXiv:2301.10140.