The Study
Estrogen Metabolism in Abdominal Subcutaneous and Visceral Adipose Tissue in Postmenopausal Women
This study is like taking a snapshot of 37 women at one moment in time. Scientists looked at two types of belly fat (subcutaneous and visceral) and measured hormones in each. They found that the two types of fat have different hormone levels and that these levels are related to things like body size. But because it's just a snapshot, we can't tell if having more visceral fat CHANGES hormone levels, or if hormone levels make fat accumulate differently. We can only say they're connected - not that one causes the other.
Analysis score
Maximum 44 for a cross-sectional study.
Where the score came from
Researchers compared estrogen levels in fat from the belly (visceral) vs fat from the hips/thighs (subcutaneous) in women who had gone through menopause.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 527 / 100
Quality score
Snapshots of a population at a single point in time, or descriptions of small groups. Can identify correlations and prevalence, but cannot determine cause and effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes - higher estrogen in visceral fat may explain why postmenopausal women gain harmful belly fat and face higher metabolic disease risk.
- 2Belly fat had 31% higher estrone than hip fat (928 vs 706 pmol/kg).
- 3Higher estrone linked to higher BMI.
- 4Hip fat made more estradiol from estrone than belly fat.
- 5In belly fat, more estradiol production linked to larger waist size.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism
Year
2017
Authors
Natalia Hetemäki, H. Savolainen-Peltonen, M. Tikkanen, Feng Wang, Hanna Paatela, E. Hämäläinen, U. Turpeinen, Mikko Haanpää, V. Vihma, T. Mikkola
Related Content
Claims (2)
When estrogen levels are out of balance, the body starts storing fat in the wrong places—instead of the harmless fat under the skin, it gets stored in the dangerous fat around internal organs.
After menopause, women have more of the hormone estrone in the fat around their internal organs compared to the fat under their skin - about 30% more, and this difference is statistically proven.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.