What hormone causes hips to widen?

The primary hormone that causes hips to widen, particularly during puberty and pregnancy, is estrogen, which promotes the development of wider pelvic bones for childbirth and encourages fat storage in the hip and thigh area, contributing to a "pear" shape. While estrogen is key, hormonal shifts during life stages like puberty, pregnancy, and menopause influence body shape, with estrogen levels driving fat distribution and bone changes.

What hormones widen hips?

Estrogen and puberty

When you hit puberty, estrogen causes you to develop what's referred to as secondary sex characteristics: Your breasts develop, your hips widen, and you grow pubic hair and armpit hair.

Can high estrogen cause wide hips?

Fat storage

Estrogen is also the hormone that helps women to have a wider pelvis, to make it easier to carry and give birth to a child. Another characteristic of estrogen is the storage of fat in places like the thighs, buttocks and hips.

Which hormone is responsible for hip fat?

The hormone estrogen inhibits fat placement in the abdominal region of the body, and stimulates fat placement in the gluteofemoral areas (the buttocks and hips). Certain hormonal imbalances can affect the fat distributions of both men and women.

What causes wide hips in females?

Women's hips get wider primarily due to hormones like estrogen during puberty, preparing the pelvis for childbirth, and this widening can continue subtly with age as the bones remodel, allowing more room for babies to pass through the birth canal. While pregnancy hormones (like relaxin) further loosen joints for delivery, bone growth itself also shifts the pelvic structure over time, distinct from just fat gain. 

What causes hips to widen?

Why are my hips suddenly wider?

So, as you grow taller, your body starts producing all kinds of hormones, which are chemicals that tell parts of your body what to do. During that time of growth, your hips widen (depending partly on what your genes, aka heredity, told them to do!) This widening helps with having babies in your adult years.

What do large hips signify on a woman?

Wide hips on a woman generally signify biological traits linked to estrogen, facilitating childbirth (gynecoid pelvis), and are associated with fertility, energy storage for pregnancy, and can also relate to genetics, fat distribution, and even social perceptions of attractiveness, representing a key part of female reproductive anatomy. 

What are the first signs of low estrogen?

Symptoms of low estrogen can include:

• Hot flashes, flushes, and night sweats are the most common symptoms of low estrogen. At times, blood rushes to your skin's surface. ...
• Mood swings are another effect of low estrogen. You may feel sad, anxious, or frustrated. ...
• Thinning tissues may cause discomfort.

What body shape is high in estrogen?

A high estrogen body shape, often called the "pear" or "ovary type," involves fat storage primarily around the hips, thighs, buttocks, and lower abdomen, creating wider hips and a smaller waist relative to these areas, plus potentially larger breasts, driven by estrogen's role in promoting female body composition. This pattern can also be linked to symptoms like heavy periods, bloating, and tender breasts, indicative of estrogen dominance.
 

How to get rid of hormonal hip fat?

It is not possible to reduce hip fat on its own. However, if a person desires to lose excess hip fat, it can help to examine their diet and exercise routine, as changes to these can reduce overall body fat. Toning up and building muscle through specific lower body exercises may also help reduce hip fat.

Will progesterone make my hips wider?

Fat storage

At puberty, oestrogen and progesterone are responsible for the development of typically 'female' characteristics, such as wider hips and larger breasts, largely by changing the way fat is distributed. The hormones are also often given to transsexuals for the same reason.

What are the early signs of high estrogen?

Here are 10 of the warning symptoms to look out for:

• Irregular periods with light or heavy bleeding.
• Weight gain, especially around thighs and hips.
• Headaches.
• Worsening of premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
• Breast tenderness.
• Fatigue.
• Decreased sex drive.
• Anxiety and depressed mood.

Why am I gaining weight on my hips?

You're gaining weight in your hips primarily due to genetics, female hormones (estrogen), and lifestyle factors like diet and activity, leading to fat storage in the gluteofemoral region, a pattern more common in women and often linked to estrogen's role in fat cell creation, though age and menopause can shift fat distribution. Hormonal shifts, sedentary habits, excess calorie intake, and even conditions like lipoedema can contribute, making hip fat a natural, though sometimes stubborn, area for weight gain. 

What does estrogen do to the hips?

The Role of Hormones in Women's Hip Health

Hormones, especially estrogen, play a crucial role in maintaining bone density, muscle tone, and ligament strength.

Why am I getting wider as I age?

A combination of things happens as we age. We tend to lose muscle mass, so our abdominal muscles aren't as tight as they once were, and the loss of elastin and collagen in our skin allows gravity to have its way so skin starts to sag. Both can cause the waistline to expand.

Does estrogen make your buttocks bigger?

Yes, estrogen plays a significant role in making buttocks bigger by promoting fat deposition in the hips, thighs, and buttocks, contributing to the typical "pear-shaped" female figure; higher estrogen levels encourage fat storage in these areas, while lower levels (like after menopause) often lead to fat shifting to the abdomen. Estrogen influences fat distribution, creating curves by adding volume to these feminine areas, making them appear fuller and rounder compared to the abdominal region. 

What is the unhealthiest body shape?

The "apple" body shape, where fat concentrates around the midsection (visceral fat), is considered the most unhealthy because it significantly increases risks for heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and liver issues, even in people with a normal weight, compared to "pear" shapes (fat in hips/thighs). A larger waist circumference (over 35" for women, 40" for men) is a key indicator of this dangerous belly fat.
 

What are the 11 signs your hormones are out of whack?

The 11 Signs of Hormonal Imbalance and What to Do

• Irregular Periods. ...
• Trouble Getting Pregnant. ...
• Hot Flashes & Night Sweats. ...
• Persistent Weight Changes. ...
• Hair Changes. ...
• Heavy Bleeding or Pelvic Pain. ...
• Mood Changes, Anxiety & Brain Fog. ...
• Fatigue & Sleep Problems.

What does a low estrogen face look like?

A low estrogen face often looks drier, thinner, and less firm, with more prominent fine lines, wrinkles (especially around eyes/mouth), and sagging in the jawline and cheeks due to reduced collagen and hydration. Skin becomes duller, more sensitive, and bruises or cuts may heal slower, sometimes accompanied by thinning eyebrows or increased facial hair as hormones shift.
 

What depletes estrogen?

Estrogen depletion happens naturally with aging (menopause) but is also caused by medical treatments (chemo, ovary removal), thyroid/pituitary issues, genetics, extreme diet/exercise, chronic stress, certain medications, and conditions like Turner Syndrome or eating disorders, all impacting ovarian function or hormone regulation, leading to symptoms like hot flashes, irregular periods, and mood swings.
 

What supplements help increase estrogen?

To increase your estrogen levels, consider adding:

• Boron, a mineral that helps your body absorb testosterone and estrogen.
• Vitamin B, which helps your body create and use estrogen.
• Vitamin D, which functions as a hormone in the body and helps with estrogen production.

Why are my hips getting wider?

Your hips are getting wider due to normal aging where pelvic bones continue to grow, hormonal shifts (especially in women during puberty and mid-life), potential weight gain in the hip area, and even muscle development from exercise, with significant widening often occurring in the 20s and continuing subtly into older age, creating a larger waist circumference even without significant fat gain. 

What is the rarest female body shape?

The rarest female body type is generally considered the hourglass, characterized by shoulders and hips of nearly equal width with a significantly defined waist, though some sources also point to the Inverted Triangle (broad shoulders, narrow hips) as very rare, with estimates suggesting only about 8% of women are true hourglasses, making it less common than pear, rectangle, or apple shapes. 

What ethnicity has the widest hips?

According to the research, South African women have average hip sizes with a circumference of 41.73 inches.