Showing posts with label Androgen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Androgen. Show all posts

Jan 31, 2012

Excess Weight and Acne

Here is another one of those headlines from a national newspaper that is overshadowed by the details in the article.

It begins with the statement that researchers have found that weight gain and moderate to severe acne go hand in hand, particularly among young women.

The most recent study highlighting a link was published this month in The Archives of Dermatology and included roughly 3,600 teenagers. The researchers looked closely at their weight and its relation to their skin, factoring in several variables that could also play a role, including age, puberty and diet.

After adjusting for these and other factors that could affect acne risk, the researchers found that overweight or obese teenagers, particularly young women were significantly more likely to develop acne than normal-weight adolescents.

Researchers have proposed several explanations for the link. One is that an excess of androgen caused by obesity provokes acne. As for why girls would be more greatly affected than boys, it is possible that having bad skin and being overweight cause them greater psychological strain, which in turn prompts the release of stress hormones that only worsen the problem. So the cause is bad skin and hormones, not excess weight. I wonder if bad skin causes acne or acne causes bad skin? Yes someone actually paid them to come up with this stuff.