# Am I android obese or do I just have a beer gut? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 4, 2014, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-android-obese-or-do-i-just-have-a-beer-gut/690057 "2014-06-04T21:32:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2014, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-android-obese-or-do-i-just-have-a-beer-gut/690057/1 "2014-06-04T21:32:15Z")
Trainer at gym looks at my belly, says “android obesity.” Definition, among many [here](http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/android+obesity). And, begging the question, I am Type II diabetic, hyperlipidemic, and have high blood pressure. And what’s all this about cannabinoids? ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2014, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-android-obese-or-do-i-just-have-a-beer-gut/690057/2 "2014-06-04T22:31:16Z")
As I understand it, men tend to collect fat around the belly as opposed to other areas of the body, so having a large gut, beer induced or otherwise, is not that unusually. The question is what additional risk does it add and is working out at the gym the best way to deal with it? I would ask my doctor about whether your current weight situation, along with your other health factors, warrants special consultation with a professional. I’ve heard of obese people going to the gym to try and get back into shape only to have a cardiac arrest as a result… ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_Astronaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Bad\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2014, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-android-obese-or-do-i-just-have-a-beer-gut/690057/3 "2014-06-04T23:45:55Z")
On the page you linked, “beer gut” is listed as a synonym of android obesity. So one is a medical term while the other is an informal expression. If you want to lose weight you need to consume fewer calories than you burn. Other than that I’m not sure what the point of the question is. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2014, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-android-obese-or-do-i-just-have-a-beer-gut/690057/4 "2014-06-05T00:22:36Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > I’ve heard of obese people going to the gym to try and get back into shape only to have a cardiac arrest as a result… I’ve heard of many more of them going there and actually improving their overall health and improving the quality of their life. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2014, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-android-obese-or-do-i-just-have-a-beer-gut/690057/5 "2014-06-05T02:26:54Z")
Android versions: Cupcake (1.5) Doughnut (1.6) Eclair (2.0–2.1) Froyo (2.2–2.2.3) Gingerbread (2.3–2.3.7) Honeycomb (3.0–3.2.6) Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0–4.0.4) Jelly Bean (4.1–4.3) KitKat (4.4–4.4.3) 'Nuff said. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2014, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-android-obese-or-do-i-just-have-a-beer-gut/690057/6 "2014-06-05T03:28:24Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > And what’s all this about cannabinoids? "CB1 receptor ". Cannabinoid receptors are part of the cannabinoid receptor system in the brain and are involved in a variety of physiological processes including appetite, pain-sensation, mood, and memory. They are also responsible for the mediation of the psychoactive , and appetite inducing, obviously, effects of cannabis. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabinoid\_receptor](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabinoid_receptor) ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2014, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-android-obese-or-do-i-just-have-a-beer-gut/690057/7 "2014-06-05T15:58:17Z")
Thanks to all. > [@Bad\_Astronaut](#): > > On the page you linked, “beer gut” is listed as a synonym of android obesity. So one is a medical term while the other is an informal expression. > > If you want to lose weight you need to consume fewer calories than you burn. Other than that I’m not sure what the point of the question is. Why do you say that the “point” of my question in this OP is, as far as you can be sure, that I want to lose weight? Your first sentence was a helpful response and belies your second and third, at least insofar as it showed you divined my point by your post forthrightly and confidently beginning with a direct answer? If I had had that point I would have pointed it out. What in OP suggests that is the topic? If you want to drift, feel free, but why is OP responsible and charged with actually intending that drift and somehow being inarticulate or stuck in some intellectual cave and will appreciate true Socratic Nyah-Nyah-nya-Nyah-Nyah dialogue? /sarcasm in last clause in sentence above If you were asking in all sincerity with the spirit of intellectual give-and-take inviting further clarification of OP, and my comments are the result of an over-reaction of someone feeling more pissy than usual having been OP on the receiving end over the last year of routine obnoxiousness posing as intellectual acuity in SD GQ–I am not referring to any posts by the mod-hatted–I suggest you take the time to use phrasing more appropriate and congenial. /not sarcasm ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_Astronaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Bad\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2014, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-android-obese-or-do-i-just-have-a-beer-gut/690057/8 "2014-06-06T00:10:58Z")
I was attempting to read into your post as I did find it a bit confusing. I presumed that if you thought that “android obesity” and “beer gut” were two different conditions, presumably with different causes and different courses of treatment, you wanted to know what the best course of action would be to rid yourself of whichever one you actually had. I got the impression that you were looking for a “magic fix” as many people are (possibly involving cannaboids?) so I was trying to rid you of that notion. But my last sentence did come off as quite snarky and I apologize for that. On a lighter note I just realized that “android” in this sitution means “male-like”, so android obesity is the typical male pattern of obesity. And that an android (as in a robot) would have a male form based on the original meaning of the word (a female robot would be a [gynoid](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gynoid)). ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2014, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-android-obese-or-do-i-just-have-a-beer-gut/690057/9 "2014-06-06T02:57:57Z")
Wait, does this mean Janelle Monáe\* isn’t \*an android? ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2014, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-android-obese-or-do-i-just-have-a-beer-gut/690057/10 "2014-06-06T03:31:30Z")
[Much more about the endocannabinoid system and appetite/metabolism.](http://pharmrev.aspetjournals.org/content/58/3/389.full#title8) It is not all the munchies. Yes, CB1 (a particular one of the cannabinoid receptors), is involved in central regulation of appetite, and endocannabinoids interact with many other brain receptors, including endogenous opioids in appetite regulation. But it is also involved in regulating metabolism - how much energy is used and how excess energy is stored - as well. These impacts apparently occur both at peripheral sites (of the fat cells and the liver), via central control of metabolic processes at the hypothalmic level, and by way of other messengers such as adiponectin. There may also be effects on pancreatic cells and on skeletal muscle. One of the main tools for studying the system has been by way of using CB1 knock out mice - meaning mice geneticall deficient in CB1 receptors. > [@](#): > > The possibility that an increase in the activity of the endocannabinoid system may contribute to at least some forms of obesity was suggested by three sets of findings. First, CB1 antagonists were significantly more efficacious in reducing caloric intake and body weight in rodents with diet-induced or genetic obesity than in their respective lean controls (Di Marzo et al., 2001b; Hildebrandt et al., 2003; Ravinet Trillouet et al., 2003; Vickers et al., 2003). > > Second, CB1-/- mice are resistant to diet-induced obesity (Ravinet Trillou et al., 2004; Osei-Hyiaman et al., 2005b). In both of these studies, overall caloric intake was not different between wild-type compared with CB1-/- mice receiving the high-fat diet, suggesting that peripheral mechanisms play a dominant role in the control of body weight by CB1 receptors. CB1-/- mice are also resistant to the metabolic changes that accompany diet-induced obesity in normal mice, including hypertriglyceridemia and elevated plasma leptin and insulin levels, indicative of leptin and insulin resistance, respectively (Ravinet Trillou et al., 2004; Osei-Hyiaman et al., 2005b). These metabolic changes, collectively defined by some as the “metabolic syndrome”, could also be reversed by SR141716 treatment (Ravinet Trillou et al., 2004; Poirier et al., 2005). > > As a third line of evidence, recent findings indicate that endocannabinoids and CB1 receptors are up-regulated in the liver and adipose tissue in various forms of experimental as well as in human obesity. In wild-type mice on a high-fat diet for 3 weeks, the basal rate of de novo hepatic fatty acid synthesis was markedly increased, and the increase was partially reversed by SR141716 treatment (Osei-Hyiaman et al., 2005b). After 3 weeks of diet, the mice were not yet overweight but showed significant hepatic steatosis. Their hepatic content of anandamide was increased 3-fold, and the level of CB1 receptor protein in liver plasma membranes was also markedly increased (Osei-Hyiaman et al., 2005b). These findings indicate that intake of a high-fat diet activates the hepatic endocannabinoid system, which contributes to increased lipogenesis and the subsequent development of hepatic steatosis and, ultimately, the development of obesity. Exposure of C57BL6/J mice to a high-fat diet has been reported to induce changes characteristic of the metabolic syndrome and also to rapidly induce the expression of SREBP1c and its downstream target lipogenic enzymes (Biddinger et al., 2005). CB1 receptor knockout mice are resistant to these diet-induced changes, which indicates that endocannabinoids have a major role in mediating them (Osei-Hyiaman et al., 2005b). > > An up-regulation of CB1 receptors has been also reported in adipose tissue of genetically obese compared with lean mice (Bensaid et al., 2003), and elevated endocannabinoid levels have been detected in adipose tissue of obese compared with lean patients (Matias et al., 2006). … > > … That increased endocannabinoid activity may also contribute to obesity and its metabolic consequences in humans was indicated by the highly promising results of recent clinical trials with rimonabant. As in the animal models of diet-induced obesity, rimonabant was effective both in reducing body weight and in reversing many of the associated metabolic abnormalities in obese subjects. In a multicenter, phase III study involving 1507 obese European subjects with a body mass index \>30 kg/m2 or a body mass index \>27 kg/m2 with dyslipidemia and moderate hypertension, rimonabant (20 mg/day) treatment for 1 year, combined with a moderately hypocaloric diet, not only reduced body weight but also reduced plasma triglycerides, increased HDL cholesterol, and decreased plasma insulin and insulin resistance (Van Gaal et al., 2005). Blood pressure was not significantly affected. The parallel reduction in body weight and waist circumference suggested that **the weight loss was predominantly due to loss of visceral fat** , which is known to be a predisposing factor for the metabolic syndrome. Rimonabant was well tolerated, with mild to moderate nausea, diarrhea, and mood disorders occurring slightly more in the treatment group than in the placebo group (Van Gaal et al., 2005). Bolding mine to highlight a bit of particular relevance to the op. Problem is that CB1 receptors are pretty widely spread in the bain and do more than regulate appetite and metabolism. Given the cannabis calms and elevates mood (along with munchies and weight gain beyond caloric intake increases) it should be of little surprise that rimonabant, the current CB1 antagonist, [might cause anxiety and depression](http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1516-44462009000200012&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en) in some, which is why it was [not approved by the FDA](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3283822/). As a drug target it so far seems to be a dead end. > [@](#): > > Rimonabant was the first in a new class of agents that appears to work by selectively blocking the cannabinoid-1 receptors in the endocannabinoid system and has been extensively investigated in the Rimonabant in Obesity (RIO) program, comprised of 4 randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled phase 3 clinical trials recruiting more than 6,000 overweight or obese patients whose weight at the start of the studies was on average 94 to 104 kg [18-21]. Each of the 4 studies on rimonabant showed significant reductions in body weight and waist circumference over a 1 to 2-year period. Rimonabant also improved cardiometabolic risk factors, including triglycerides, blood pressure, insulin resistance, C-reactive protein levels, and high density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations in both non-diabetic and type 2 diabetic overweight/obese patients. Rimonabant was generally well-tolerated. However, later reports showed the use of rimonabant was associated with psychiatric side effects, including anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation. The adverse psychiatric events were observed in 26% of the participants in the rimonabant group compared with 14% in the placebo group in the same 4 studies [22], and the risk of depressive symptoms was estimated at 2.5 fold higher than in placebo-treated patients [8]. In spite of the extensive favorable clinical data, the U.S. FDA refused marketing authorization for rimonabant as a consequence of the risks. Rimonabant was marketed in 18 EU member states. However, in November 2008, the EMA subsequently withdrew authorization for rimonabant in Europe. > > Taranabant, a second CB1 antagonist, has also been assessed in large scale clinical trials over a 52-week period and showed 4 kg placebo-adjusted significant weight reduction, similar to rimonabant [23]. However, psychiatric side effects were observed in all studies with taranabant using both high [23,24] and low doses [25]. For this reason, psychiatric side effects are considered a class issue for first generation CB1 antagonists. As a consequence, the development of other first generation CB1 antagonists, including the Pfizer CB1 antagonist, otenabant (CP-945,598), and the Bristol Myers Squibb compound, SLV-319, have also been halted. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2014, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-android-obese-or-do-i-just-have-a-beer-gut/690057/11 "2014-06-06T04:56:44Z")
Oh. FWIW “android obesity” is not a commonly used phrase … you’ll more commonly hear/read “central obesity” or “visceral fat” or “abdmonial fat.” Its incidence varies by ethnicity and by gender - more common among obese Asians for example, and in males. And as for “beer gut” - it is apparently [associated with excessive alcohol intake](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2984859/) and with smoking.