dear asking for a friend,
i want to know about man boobs. is it a thing? my buddy told me that he read something about ipa beer causing, well, boobs on guys. i drink a lot of beer. more since covid began. i haven’t noticed anything new about my chest, but wondering if this needs to be something to add to my long list of worries.
signed, no boobs yet
dear no boobs yet,
it’s no secret that alcohol can lead to a bountiful bosom. a few lifestyle tweaks can help prevent and get rid of the growing chest, but for some men, it’s more complicated than that.
while alcohol, excess weight, and aging have all been linked to enlarged breast tissue in men, there are other culprits as well. steroid use and natural, oil-based products can mess with your hormone levels, cause an imbalance and also lead to “man boobs.”
not all man boobs are created equal, says dr. adam millar, endocrinologist at
mount sinai hospital
and
toronto general hospital
, assistant professor in the
department of medicine at the university of toronto
and member of the
canadian society of endocrinology and metabolism
. one type is gynecomastia, where there is an imbalance of hormones which can lead to actual breast tissue growth. another type is lipomastia, which is breast enlargement due to increased fat tissue — this is normally related to excess weight.