The American Man Boob Epidemic

With myself being a longtime man boob sufferer, it is a subject close to my heart.

This morning I read that Hollywood is somewhat suffering from a man boob epidemic.

This is what I read....

"Hollywood stars have a tendency to search for physical perfection in their appearance but there is a trend of late for male celebrities to embrace what nature has given them. ‘Man boobs’ seen on actors such as John Travolta, Jack Black and even “Indiana Jones” star, Harrison Ford, seem to be somewhat of an epidemic in Hollywood."

I used to think my man boobs were well developed pectoral muscles, til some kind soul disabused me of that notion by pointing out I needed to do more push ups because I had big man boobs.

Man boobs have been around a long time, all the way back to the ancient Greek's heyday. The Greeks word for man boobs is Gynecomastia, which means "female-like breasts."

To varying degrees Gynecomastia afflicts around 60% of the American male population.

There are several things that can cause a man to grow man boobs.

Excess weight is one. Fat can cause more estrogen to be produced, and thus breast tissue. Other things besides being fat can cause extra estrogen to be produced, such as blood pressure medicines, steroid abuse, marijuana smoking and too much alcohol consumption. Tumors can also cause hormones to get out of whack.

It is fairly easy to treat man boobs. If they are due to being over weight, losing the excess weight will shrink the man boobs. If the man boobs are caused by excess estrogen, not related to excess fat, hormone therapy to lower the estrogen levels will shrink the man boobs.

Around 19,000 American men have resorted to breast reduction surgery to get rid of their man boobs. Most often liposuction is the means of reduction, using ultra-sound to target the fat.

For many men with man boobs it becomes a self-esteem/body image issue, with embarrassment preventing activities like swimming.

I can't remember the last time I felt comfortable taking my shirt off and going swimming. Losing weight is my treatment choice.