ArticleBiology of sex differences2012
Sex differences in human adipose tissues - the biology of pear shape.
Article in Biology of sex differences, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 613 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
613 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 1,072 citations in OpenAlex.
- Maternal Overnutrition in Pregnancy Predicts Greater Body Mass Index Gains in Offspring by Early Midlife: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2026Pooled it
- Precision or Paradox? AI-Driven Adiposity Imaging in Women With Overweight and Obesity: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Divergent responses of adiponectin and leptin to exercise in women with overweight or obesity: a systematic review and meta-regression.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Pooled it
- Body mass index and subsequent fracture risk: a meta-analysis to update FRAX.Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of Immediate and Delayed Repeated Cold Exposure After Physical Exertion: A Randomized Controlled Trial.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Trial
- Cutaneous adipose tissue carries a strong inflammatory signature in patients with psoriasis.JCI insight · 2026Trial
- A Real-Life Digital Intervention for Personalized Nutrition in Adults With Overweight or Obesity: Remote Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Trial
- Cold- and hot-water immersion are not more effective than placebo for the recovery of physical performance and training adaptations in national level soccer players.European journal of applied physiology · 2025Trial
- Early Time-Restricted Eating Improves Weight Loss While Preserving Muscle: An 8-Week Trial in Young Women.Nutrients · 2025Trial
- Trial
- Population pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics and safety of YPEG-rhGH in elderly subjects.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Trial
- Visceral Adiposity and Progression of ADPKD: A Cohort Study of Patients From the TEMPO 3:4 Trial.American journal of kidney diseases : the official journal of the National Kidney Foundation · 2024Trial
- Beyond BMI: Genome-Wide Associations of Visceral Fat, Fat Mass, and Fat-Free Mass in Eastern Asian Populations.Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) · 2026Article
- Sex- and age-specific patterns in bone, muscle, and fat across adulthood and their relation to osteosarcopenic adiposity phenotype: a cross-sectional study.GeroScience · 2026Article
- Sex, Sex Hormones and Inflammatory Burden and Cardiovascular Risk in Patients with Spondyloarthritis.Biomolecules · 2026Review
- The Nonlinear Association Between Adipose Tissue Insulin Resistance and Remnant Cholesterol in Chinese Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of cardiovascular development and disease · 2026Article
- Central Adiposity Versus Body Mass Index in Assessment of Adiposity-Related Differences in Physical Activity Among Schoolchildren Aged 5-12 Years in High-Risk Neighborhoods.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Cardiovascular Risk Associated With General and Abdominal Obesity in Young Adults Without Traditional Risk Factors: A Korean Nationwide Cohort Study.Journal of lipid and atherosclerosis · 2026Article
- Article
553 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Women have more body fat than men, but in contrast to the deleterious metabolic consequences of the central obesity typical of men, the pear-shaped body fat distribution of many women is associated with lower cardiometabolic risk. To understand the mechanisms regulating adiposity and adipose tissue distribution in men and women, significant research attention has focused on comparing adipocyte morphological and metabolic properties, as well as the capacity of preadipocytes derived from different depots for proliferation and differentiation. Available evidence points to possible intrinsic, cell autonomous differences in preadipocytes and adipocytes, as well as modulatory roles for sex steroids, the microenvironment within each adipose tissue, and developmental factors. Gluteal-femoral adipose tissues of women may simply provide a safe lipid reservoir for excess energy, or they may directly regulate systemic metabolism via release of metabolic products or adipokines. We provide a brief overview of the relationship of fat distribution to metabolic health in men and women, and then focus on mechanisms underlying sex differences in adipose tissue biology.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.