Hormonal
Female-specific fat distribution (subcutaneous gluteofemoral) is an evolutionary adaptation for reproductive success, whereas male-specific central/visceral obesity is a maladaptive genetic drift resulting from relaxed selection against high BMI.
Your body's tendency to store fat in specific areas (hips/thighs for women, belly for men) is largely hardwired by your sex hormones and evolutionary history, not just your diet. Women's lower-body fat storage is an adaptive mechanism for reproduction, while men's visceral fat accumulation is a maladaptive byproduct. Focus on metabolic health markers (like blood pressure and glucose) rather than just trying to force a 'universal' fat distribution pattern, as your body is optimized for its specific sex-based storage strategy.
Female obesity, with excess adiposity in the lower extremities, reflects an exaggeration of an adaptation for female reproductive success. We suggest that the pattern of central obesity, more commonly seen in men, is not adaptive, but rather reflects the genetic drift hypothesis of human susceptibility to obesity.
Why this rating
The paper is a comprehensive review citing multiple observational and physiological studies, though it lacks direct experimental manipulation of the evolutionary hypothesis.
Source
Sex differences in fat storage, fat metabolism, and the health risks from obesity: possible evolutionary origins
Michael L. Power et al. · British Journal Of Nutrition · 2007
DOI 10.1017/s0007114507853347
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