Gynecomastia is a condition wherein the chest area of the body of a man increases in size due to the build up of fat deposits, eventually leading it to protrude and take the appearance of female breasts. Although we know it today as being a clump of stored fat on a man’s chest, the case is not always like this. Predominantly, gynecomastia happens in men who are not even overweight or obese. There are those who develop man boobs all of a sudden after being flat chested for several years. This can basically mean that the reason for the formation of man boobs can come from an extremely complex spectrum, one that cannot simply be explained in one sentence.
25% of all cases of man boobs have no exact causes. However, it has been generally accepted by medical professionals around the world that man boobs can be caused by many different factors, from hormonal imbalances to being the consequence of another medical condition altogether. Doctors have pointed out that liver cirrhosis is one of the main causes of the formation of breast like features among men.
Cirrhosis has been linked to man boobs because injuries that afflict a man’s liver can impair its ability to degrade the levels of estrogens in a man’s body. As we all know, estrogen is a female hormone that encourages the growth of female body parts such as breasts. Certain amounts of estrogen are also present in men, but the amount of this hormone is normally controlled by the liver. If the liver is impaired, the balance of the amount of estrogen in the body becomes unchecked, and therefore the level of globulin, a hormone that binds sex hormones together, triggers the production of more. When the levels of estrogen increase in men, the formation of breasts soon follows. Men who drink alcohol who are, of course, extremely prone to developing liver cirrhosis, are at a greater risk of getting gynecomastia since alcohol ultimately leads to the destruction of a majority of the liver.
Aside from cirrhosis, man boobs have also been shown to be caused by the formation of tumors in the body. Approximately ten to fifteen percent of people with testicular tumors have developed man boobs in the course of two to five months after the formation of the actual tumors, and the number increases to twenty to thirty percent after about six to eight months after tumor development. This is because the tumors also tend to produce copious amounts of estrogen, which are then incorporated into the bloodstream, causing the formation of breasts. Other than tumors, hyperthyroidism has also been linked to the formation of man boobs, as well as primary hypogonadism and chronic renal insufficiency.
Almost anything negative that can befall on a man’s body can cause man boobs. Therefore, it is important that men take better care of themselves not only to eliminate the anxiety from developing man boobs, but also to avoid the diseases that cause it such as cirrhosis and the like. It is important to talk to a medical professional to seek the best ways to keep the body healthy and free from infections.
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