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Sex Differences in Body Composition

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Sex and Gender Factors Affecting Metabolic Homeostasis, Diabetes and Obesity

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 1043))

Abstract

Body composition differs between men and women. Men have more lean mass, and women have more fat mass than men. Men are more likely to accumulate adipose tissue around the trunk and abdomen, whereas women usually accumulate adipose tissue around the hips and thighs. Less is known about sex differences in ectopic fat depots. Advances in imaging allow the noninvasive assessment of abdominal and femorogluteal fat compartments, intramyocellular lipids, intrahepatic lipids, pericardial adipose tissue, and neck adipose tissue including brown adipose tissue and tongue adipose tissue. In this review, sex differences of regional adipose tissue, muscle mass, ectopic lipids, and brown adipose tissue and their effects on cardiometabolic risk will be discussed. In addition, novel imaging techniques to quantify these body composition compartments noninvasively will be described.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Division of Musculoskeletal Radiology and Interventions, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Miriam A. Bredella

  2. Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Miriam A. Bredella

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  1. Miriam A. Bredella
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Correspondence to Miriam A. Bredella .

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  1. Department of Medicine, Section of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Tulane University Health Sciences Center, School of Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

    Franck Mauvais-Jarvis

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Bredella, M.A. (2017). Sex Differences in Body Composition. In: Mauvais-Jarvis, F. (eds) Sex and Gender Factors Affecting Metabolic Homeostasis, Diabetes and Obesity. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 1043. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70178-3_2

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