# The connection between obesity and body hair? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 24, 2003, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-connection-between-obesity-and-body-hair/184080 "2003-06-24T17:40:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-connection-between-obesity-and-body-hair/184080/1 "2003-06-24T17:40:14Z")
From personal pbservation, it seems that the larger the person gets the less body hair they seem to have. Very obese people tend to have very little body hair. By body hair, I`m referring to observable locations such as legs arms and, if at the beach, the back and torso area. What is the connection here? ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-connection-between-obesity-and-body-hair/184080/2 "2003-06-24T18:07:03Z")
Really? I’ve seen the opposite, the larger or more obese the person, the more body hair. ---
**Author:** ![Surreal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Surreal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surreal)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-connection-between-obesity-and-body-hair/184080/3 "2003-06-24T18:12:08Z")
I agree with **Amp**. It seems to me that the opposite holds true for both men and women. ---
**Author:** ![Zorro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ad7895/32.png) [@Zorro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zorro)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-connection-between-obesity-and-body-hair/184080/4 "2003-06-24T19:25:42Z")
That’s because there are the same number of hair follicles spread over a larger surface. OK, bring on the next pointless question. ---
**Author:** ![WeRSauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f19dbf/32.png) [@WeRSauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WeRSauron)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-connection-between-obesity-and-body-hair/184080/5 "2003-06-24T20:36:22Z")
But what about the “before” and “after” shots of guys where the “before” shot shows them as fat and hairy, and the “after” shot shows them as fit and smooth? Does toning up make one loose hair? (This is especially interesting when one notices the trend to today’s men’s magazines of portraying guys as having no hair except on their head or under their arms.) WRS ---
**Author:** ![Mini-Thud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/779978/32.png) [@Mini-Thud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mini-Thud)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-connection-between-obesity-and-body-hair/184080/6 "2003-06-24T20:49:25Z")
I suspect in those before and after shots, they shave themselves smooth to make it look more “sexy”. Certainly no woman wants a hairy guy… even if he is in good shape, right? ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-connection-between-obesity-and-body-hair/184080/7 "2003-06-24T21:44:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jukaal \* > \*\*Certainly no woman wants a hairy guy… even if he is in good shape, right? \*\* That’s not what my wife says… but I think she’s just trying to not hurt my feelings. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-connection-between-obesity-and-body-hair/184080/8 "2003-06-24T21:50:38Z")
There is a very strong connection between excessive _male type_ hair in obese **women**. The mechanism is multifactorial but, in part, has to do with the fact that obese people are resistant to insulin. As a consequence, their insulin levels increase (to try to overcome the resistance). The resultant high levels of insulin, in women, stimulate the ovaries to make male hormones. Male type hair growth results. ---
**Author:** ![Tsubaki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@Tsubaki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tsubaki)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-connection-between-obesity-and-body-hair/184080/9 "2003-06-24T23:02:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jukaal \* > \*\*Certainly no woman wants a hairy guy… even if he is in good shape, right? \*\* Not true. ---
**Author:** ![kirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f9ae1b/32.png) [@kirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kirk)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-connection-between-obesity-and-body-hair/184080/10 "2003-06-25T01:58:49Z")
Body fat is a source of estrogen. In men, the estrogen would reduce the amount of body hair and may cause other effects. [http://my.webmd.com/content/article/49/39672.htm?lastselectedguid={5FE84E90-BC77-4056-A91C-9531713CA348}](http://my.webmd.com/content/article/49/39672.htm?lastselectedguid=%7B5FE84E90-BC77-4056-A91C-9531713CA348%7D) ---
**Author:** ![lollipop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/77aa72/32.png) [@lollipop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lollipop)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-connection-between-obesity-and-body-hair/184080/11 "2003-06-25T04:08:37Z")
KarlGauss is right. Weight often does influence hormone production in women. I’m not sure if it has the same influence on men. Men are have more hair to begin with, so who can tell? ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-connection-between-obesity-and-body-hair/184080/12 "2003-06-25T12:28:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kirk \* > \*\*Body fat is a source of estrogen. > In men, the estrogen would reduce the amount of body hair and may cause other effects. [http://my.webmd.com/content/article/49/39672.htm?lastselectedguid={5FE84E90-BC77-4056-A91C-9531713CA348}](http://my.webmd.com/content/article/49/39672.htm?lastselectedguid=%7B5FE84E90-BC77-4056-A91C-9531713CA348%7D) \*\* I read the article and it seems they were referring to estrogen in WOMEN not men. If \*\*amp \*\* and **surreal** seem to think just the opposite what I observe, why would that be the case? What would be the cause either way linking the two? Do the hair follicles get spaced out more, as **zorro** said, or is it due to increased friction between clothes and body, or is it a hormonal thing,- just curious. ---
**Author:** ![mallocks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f4b2a3/32.png) [@mallocks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mallocks)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-connection-between-obesity-and-body-hair/184080/13 "2003-06-25T12:34:47Z")
I don’t think I’ve seen any real correlation, if I had to decide one way I’d actually go for **Amp** ’s view ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-connection-between-obesity-and-body-hair/184080/14 "2003-06-25T12:41:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mallocks \* > \*\*I don’t think I’ve seen any real correlation, if I had to decide one way I’d actually go for **Amp** ’s view \*\* Why do you suppose that is? ---
**Author:** ![mallocks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f4b2a3/32.png) [@mallocks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mallocks)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-connection-between-obesity-and-body-hair/184080/15 "2003-06-25T12:55:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by whuckfistle \* > \*\*Why do you suppose that is? \*\* because some of the larger people I know have a lot of body hair, I’m just not quite sure if they are larger than the number of slimmer people I know who have a lot of body hair. ---
**Author:** ![Shrinking\_Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@Shrinking\_Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shrinking_Violet)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-connection-between-obesity-and-body-hair/184080/16 "2003-06-25T14:01:03Z")
> [@](#): > > The resultant high levels of insulin, in women, stimulate the ovaries to make male hormones. Male type hair growth results. Do you have a cite for this, **KarlGauss**? Reason I ask is that, although only slightly overweight I’ve become somewhat hairier since being put onto insulin 6 months ago. Julie ---
**Author:** ![curly\_chick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ba0ec/32.png) [@curly\_chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curly_chick)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-connection-between-obesity-and-body-hair/184080/17 "2003-06-25T14:50:33Z")
We all know thin hairy men and fat hairy men, so I don’t know that there is any sort of a link between hair and fat in men. What about women though? Fat is a source of oestrogen, as mentioned by **kirk** , so then fat women should be super feminine and have no hair, shouldn’t they? Yet **KarlGauss** says that obese women have male pattern hair. Then again anorexics, when they get very tiny have no fat and grow that horrible downy hair on their body to keep warm. Some people think that this type of anorexic hair is more like fur than ordinary body hair, but it must surely come from the existing follicles as the starved body would hardly expend any effort making more follicles, would it? Is there a pattern for either gender? I don’t think so. ---
**Author:** ![Surreal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Surreal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surreal)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-connection-between-obesity-and-body-hair/184080/18 "2003-06-25T14:57:54Z")
All I know is that among the guys I know who are REALLY hairy, all of them are overweight. I think the gay porn term for them is ‘bear’. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-connection-between-obesity-and-body-hair/184080/19 "2003-06-25T20:04:30Z")
People with lots of estrogen tend to turn some of it into testosterone, which is chemically similar. Women with polycystic ovarian syndrome may weigh more than average and be hairier than average. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-connection-between-obesity-and-body-hair/184080/20 "2003-06-25T21:08:16Z")
> [@](#): > > Do you have a cite for this, KarlGauss? Reason I ask is that, although only slightly overweight I’ve become somewhat hairier since being put onto insulin 6 months ago. > > Julie Here a few abstracts that indicate the association between insulin resistance, high levels of insulin (hyperinsulinemia), hair growth (hirsutism), and elevated levels of male hormones (hyperandrogenemia). There is considerable overlap among these entities with so-called **Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome** (a condition most commonly affecting overweight women which is characterized by hirsutism, mentrual disturbance, and varying degrees of infertility). [Role of hyperinsulinemia in the pathogenesis of the polycystic ovary syndrome, and its clinical implications](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=9165656&dopt=Abstract) [Insulin-lowering drugs in polycystic ovary syndrome](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11293000&dopt=Abstract) [Insulin resistance in polycystic ovary syndrome](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=9263704&dopt=Abstract). [Obesity and the polycystic ovary syndrome](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12080440&dopt=Abstract) [Insulin resistance, polycystic ovary syndrome and metformin](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=10576524&dopt=Abstract) With respect to fat as a source of estrogen - it is. In fact, that may explain, in part, the association between obesity and breast cancer/uterus cancer. It seems, though, that in many obese women, the estrogen effect is offset by the high male hormones that have resulted from the insulin resistance/high levels of insulin. Also, the _uninterrupted_ high levels of estrogen which result from obesity(as opposed to the cyclically high levels in “normal” women), promote (through endocrine feedback) the production of even more male hormone. Finally, in women, obesity and high levels of insulin both lead to more male hormone being “free” and “unbound” and thus more able to have a biological effect, including its ability to promote male type hair growth (i.e. usually, most of the male hormone in women is effectively inactivated by being bound to various proteins in the bloodstream. It’s a confusing, but fascinating, set of processes. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-connection-between-obesity-and-body-hair/184080.md?page=2)