Biology of regional body fat distribution: Relationship to non‐insulin‐dependent diabetes mellitus

Our studies support the view that body fat distribution and the accompanying metabolic abnormalities could be exacerabated by variability in the androgenic/estrogenic balance. Sensitivity to the androgenic milieu might be initiated by an early developmental aberration in sexual dimorphism. The possible direct and indirect sites of interaction between androgenic activity and the abnormal metabolic pathways in upper body obesity are summarized in Figure 19.