This general acceleration in body fat accumulation, particularly sex-specific fat, is mainly attributed to changes in female hormone levels. After adolescence, the accumulation of sex-specific fat more or less stops in healthy-weight women, and there is usually no further increase in the number of fat cells. Fat cells in males also do not tend to multiply after adolescence.
Men tend to store visceral fat. A large potbelly, where waist girth begins to exceed hip girth, is strongly associated with an increased risk of coronary artery disease, diabetes, elevated triglycerides, hypertension, cancer, and general overall mortality.
