What it's like to be afflicted with 'moobs'

Male breast reduction surgery is on the rise. But what exactly causes ‘man boobs’? Gareth May speaks to a sufferer and health experts about the condition

Support group: Edward Norton and Meat Loaf in Fight Club (1999) Credit: Photo: 20th Century Fox

“As a teenager, I was bullied for being skinny. By 19 I had bulked out and was starting to feel better about myself. Then I noticed I had excess fat on my chest, which just wouldn’t go away no matter how much I exercised. I became very self-conscious and I started to get bullied again, at the gym. It was a nightmare.”

Ian Solano’s story is familiar to many men. That dreaded moment when the fatty tissue on your chest goes from a punchline down the pub to something a little more serious – something that simply won’t go away no matter how many push-ups you do.

Man cans. Moobs. Chap baps. Call them what you will, man boobs are here to stay. The figures of men undergoing breast reduction surgery aren’t alarming, but they are certainly interesting: between 2009 and 2010 only 18 operations were performed on the NHS, but by 2013 to 2014 that number increased to 39. In the last five years, over 200 men have sought treatment for ‘moobs.’

Ian, 33, from Gloucestershire, is one of those men.

At school, Ian was used to being the butt of the jokes: his bad skin and unfashionable hair made him easy prey for bullies. In an attempt to boost his confidence, he hit the gym. But despite the rest of his body reacting to the workouts, the fatty tissue on his chest wouldn’t give in.

At first, he says, it was a case of damage limitation: “I tried everything I could to disguise my chest: I taped my nipples down, avoided wearing light coloured tops, wore two T-shirts at once. I would definitely never go topless in public.

“I felt horrendous about myself and every day was a constant battle.”

A spot of self examination and some Googling led Ian to the medical condition for ‘man boobs’: Gynaecomastia. He made an appointment with a plastic surgeon and some weeks later underwent ‘pseudo gynaecomastia’ – liposuction on his chest to remove the excess fat. The procedure was a success.

“I know it sounds like a cliché but the surgery has completely changed my life and I now feel like a different person,” he says. “I have so much more confidence in my body and myself in general.”

Ian underwent surgery at Transform – the one time hair transplant clinic turned cosmetic surgery provider. Earlier this year, Transform conducted a study looking into the ways men (and women) perceive their bodies.

Out of the 2,000 participants surveyed in the UK, 11pc of men said they try to minimise their ‘breasts’ with the way they dress, compared to 31pc that try to minimise their stomach; 19pc of men also said they would consider a cosmetic procedure.

The potbelly may still be the primary concern for many men, but while a belly can be banished, moobs are more tenacious. Surely, though, they’re just a sign of being a touch overweight?

Marva Hammond, Lead Clinical Nurse at Transform, suggests otherwise. She says that gynaecomastia is commonly related to a hormone imbalance. Men normally have a higher ratio of the 'male' hormone testosterone in relation to oestrogen (the 'female' hormone). However, if their testosterone levels fall, there can be an increase in oestrogen, which leads to the development of excess fatty and breast tissue.

The ageing process, weight increases, cancer, prescribed medication and the use of anabolic steroids, alcohol and marijuana are also known to be a contributory factor associated to gynaecomastia, she says.

Treatment involves dealing with the symptoms as well as the moobs themselves: medically treating the hormone imbalance with drugs and surgically removing the excess tissue and fat.

So, how do you know if you should be concerned?

Dr Paula Singleton at Leeds Beckett University is an expert in the accounts and impact of gynecomastia on men. She says that excess breast tissue in a man may be due to excess fat all over – but the kind that persists even in men with low body fat should always be checked out by a GP because it could be something more serious, such as Klinefelter Syndrome.

Dr Singleton also said that her research revealed that not every man with excess breast tissue is all that bothered. But for those that are, it can have serious psychological implications.

“For some [men], they feel that it marks them out as unmasculine. They either can't conceal it or they are unwilling to spend their lives trussed up in compression vests, sweltering in heat, unable to take their kids swimming or relax on a beach holiday,” she says. “In my research I found that these men were worried about dating in case women made fun of them [and] they were worried about their ‘moobs’ making them a target for comments and bullying by other men.”

However, Dr Singleton did say she felt that the total number of men with this issue has not increased. Instead, men are simply more willing to seek a surgical remedy these days. It's "probably due to increasing publicity about the procedure and – yes – the increasing prevalence of images of the perfect masculine body,” she says.

As for Ian, he believes that we’re getting better as a society and no longer underestimating the impact body image ideals have on men.

“I feel society has definitely become more aware that men have body image issues too. In the past I think there was more of a taboo on men having surgery or taking care of their appearance,” he says. “It’s more acceptable for women to have body image issues and society recognises there is a pressure on women. For men, it’s not as acceptable, but I do feel this is changing as time goes on.”

There’s no doubting the impact surgery has had on Ian’s life. As well as changing his physical appearance, the procedure also helped him gain the confidence to pursue his dream of writing music and DJing at nightclubs.

He offers some words of wisdom to anyone out there worrying about making an appointment with their GP: “If it’s affecting your life then do something about it. Going for a consultation is genuinely the best decision I ever made. My life is completely different now and I’m loving every minute of it.”