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As we age, the distribution of our body fat changes, particularly around menopause.

Most people think of body fat as bad, but fat tissue plays a number of hugely important roles in our health.

In today’s episode of ZOE Science and Nutrition, Jonathan is joined by Dr. Sarah Berry and Prof. Deborah Clegg. Together, they debunk the myth that fat is bad, enlighten us about why body fat is distributed where it is, and explore the differences in fat distribution between men and women.

Deborah Clegg is a professor and Vice President for Research at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, El Paso. Her research focuses on sex differences in metabolism, adipose tissue, and the brain and the impact this has on our health. Dr. Sarah Berry is one of the world's leading experts on human nutrition. She has run more than 20 randomized clinical trials looking at how humans respond to different fats.

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Timecodes:
00:00 Intro
04:00 What is body fat?
06:32 What is healthy fat?
07:52 Female vs male body fat
11:56 Why is belly fat the most unhealthy?
19:43 Waist to hip ratio
21:24 How estrogen affects fat distribution
27:41 Perimenopause symptoms
31:01 Fat cells producing estrogen
36:00 Hunger the menopause
38:46 Weight gain and the menopause
40:54 Physical changes in men
42:28 Exercise and fat distribution
43:26 What to eat during menopause
46:37 Estrogen supplements

Mentioned in today’s episode:

The evolutionary impact and influence of oestrogens on adipose tissue structure and function. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 2023
Link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37482...

Menopause is associated with postprandial metabolism, metabolic health and lifestyle: The ZOE PREDICT study. EBioMedicine 2022
Link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...


Episode transcripts are available here: https://zoe.com/learn/category/podcasts

Is there a nutrition topic you’d like us to explore? Email us at [email protected] and we’ll do our best to cover it.