• Question: why do men get man boobs

    Asked by cewis to Enda, Jean, Kate, Kev, Tim on 15 Nov 2012.
    • Photo: Jean Bourke

      Jean Bourke answered on 15 Nov 2012:

      All men actually have breast tissue, just not as much as women. Men can get breast cancer too. Remember: we all are different shapes and sizes and so long as you try and stay healthy it’s all good!

      There some medical conditions than can cause gynaecomastia (the medical term). Mainly things that change the levels of certain hormones secreted by the pituitary gland (in your brain and absolutely vital for nearly everything) such as long term steroid use. (Steroids are not just for body builders, they are essential drugs that save lives.)

    • Photo: Tim Downing

      Tim Downing answered on 17 Nov 2012:

      Hi Cewis,

      To add to Jean’s answer on the hormonal aspect of why men get boobs, we need to look at the ratios of hormones in our bodies. We all have the same hormones expressed in our tissues – we know these change over time, for example when we develop from child to adult. These also are different between people: men and women have different levels of them. So one reason men get boobs is that the levels of the hormones vary between men too. One hypothesis that a hormone called globulin binds to testosterone, a male-specific hormone. Testosterone is present in everyone, but is higher in men. Globulin deactivate testosterone, causing a change in the ratio of hormones in the body and so this can cause the development of breast tissue in men.
      What’s amazing about this is how hormones can cause such great changes in our body structure, and can be used to make us healthier: for example, testosterone can help make elderly people who tend to have less of it feel a bit younger again!

      Tim

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