Why Lipedema Almost Always Affects Women | The Hormone Connection Explained

Lipedema almost never affects men, but it strikes women at three distinct points in her lifetime, and here’s the reason why. Lipedema affects about 11% of women worldwide, but we almost never hear about it in men, and that alone tells you that there’s something fundamentally different about what drives it. There’s a lot of evidence to suggest that lipedema is affected by hormones, specifically by estrogen. Estrogen is responsible for the growth of fat cells in the body, as well as the distribution along with the inflammatory state within the fat cells themselves.

And women with lipedema tend to have estrogen that drives the growth of abnormal fat in their legs, hips, and arms. And this is why lipedema tends to develop or worsen at three distinct points in a woman’s life, puberty, pregnancy, and menopause. Three different phases, one common thread. This is not a weight condition or a lifestyle condition. This is driven by female biology, and this is why diet and exercise are not going to change lipedema.