Female Fat Storage: Cultural Differences

BossArky

I was flicking through Women's Strength Training Anatomy yesterday evening.

This book is a pretty tame intro to weights for females, concentrating on the buttocks, abs, legs and back. The best bit thing about it is the anatomy charts showing the detail of the various muscles. Unforuntately the exercise selection is weak: heaps of bodyweight buttock flexing... and just mentions deadlifts and squats as an after thought towards the end.

Anyway, this isn't a book review, but I need to give some background before getting to my point.

It starts off talking about bodyfat storage in women. It mentions how women store more bodyfat than men, in anticipation of pregnancy and having to provide for the growing child. It then explains how women store their fat in different areas.

• Africa American women --> buttocks
• Latino women --> hips
• Asian women --> the navel

Apparently the reason women (and men I suppose) store bodyfat in specific areas is to prevent the body being covered in a single warm coat of fat.

I spent a few minutes googling to find out the genetic reasons as to why different cultures store fat in different areas... but didn't find anything.

Does anyone have such info?

Colm_OReilly

Boss,

I can't say for certain on it, but the reasoning seems a bit odd. Why would the body want to prevent even distribution? I don't have an answer.

Gary Taubes has done a lot of research on food and fat storage and in this video (76 minutes long) he talks about different types of obesity, and the role of the predominant foods associated with it.

It may shed some light on why people store fat in different areas.

Colm

PS: The video is worth the time watching/listening to.

rubadub

Colm_OReilly wrote: »

Why would the body want to prevent even distribution? I don't have an answer.

Possibly for heat loss. Africans are said to have large lips & nose to aid heat loss, while those in colder climates will have more contracted features to stop heat loss, esp. in places of high blood flow which transfer bodily heat more readily.

I would presume it is a lot down to diet too.

g'em

Shite book but anyhow ....

BossArky wrote: »

It starts off talking about bodyfat storage in women. It mentions how women store more bodyfat than men, in anticipation of pregnancy and having to provide for the growing child. It then explains how women store their fat in different areas.

• Africa American women --> buttocks
• Latino women --> hips
• Asian women --> the navel

I'd be fairly skeptical about that tbh.

There's certainly a recognised genetic predisposition to store fat in certain area both within genders and between them but I would be extremely dubious about saying that there's genetic predisposition according to race.

There may be tendencies towards big butts in African American women but that could as easily be down to a cultural selection for a trait that's seen as beneficial within a group i.e. women with big bums are seen as more attractive, therefore women with big bums will have more children, big bums live on. That doesn't mean that there's an inherent predisposition, simply that the big-bum gene is getting passed on more successfully than the flat bum one is.

I'll do some digging myself and see what I can come up with...

BossArky

Colm_OReilly wrote: »

Gary Taubes has done a lot of research on food and fat storage and in this video (76 minutes long) he talks about different types of obesity, and the role of the predominant foods associated with it.

Thanks for the video Colm. I'll try to check it out over the weekend. Note that I'm not referring just to obese people. I mean fat storage on "normal" healthy people too.

g'em wrote: »

Shite book but anyhow ....

It is indeed - very much targeting the sterotype of female exercise.

I had a look at the male version of the book too. The author knows his audience --> first few pages =

bicep curls

g'em wrote: »

I'll do some digging myself and see what I can come up with...

Cheers. I'm not sure exactly what I'm looking for. Why do Latino's store fat at the hips as opposed to butt or navel?

I was discussing this last night. Apparently people in colder climates store fat more around the waist to bide them through colder periods. Maybe they just need to steer clear of starbucks.

g'em

BossArky wrote: »

I'm not sure exactly what I'm looking for. Why do Latino's store fat at the hips as opposed to butt or navel?

I don't think there actually is a reason, and even if there is, it doesn't seem to be documented. There's no demographic information available for variations in fat dispersion between races.

I'd probably place my bet on it being a cultural selection and not an evolutionarily advantageous one - certain cultures just like certain shapes, they get chosen, that genetic predisposition gets passed on.

BossArky wrote:

I was discussing this last night. Apparently people in colder climates store fat more around the waist to bide them through colder periods. Maybe they just need to steer clear of starbucks.

Yup, by and large that's true. You see a variety of adaptations in humans according to the climate that our early ancestors would have lived in: pelvic breadth tends to be wide in cold climates, and narrow in hot climates. That doesn't explain the differences in women of varying races specifically though, & I'd still say the cultural preference is mostly responsible there.

If there's an alternative hypothesis though I'm all ears...