Teenage boys developing female breasts: it sounds like the kind of story that might be told by giggling children in the playground or something that might have occurred in one of Roald Dahl’s Tales of the Unexpected.
The problem of teenage boys developing what have been termed “boy-boobs” is, however, no laughing matter for those who are affected and certainly not confined to the realms of fiction. The problem has now become so widespread that a surgical procedure is the only treatment that will correct the condition.
Mr Christian Duncan a surgeon at the Alder Hey hospital in Liverpool has performed at least 20 breast reduction operations on teenage boys in the last year. This might sound drastic and unnecessary but it is not.
Although the problem arises in obese boys it is not the actual fat tissue that is causing the problem. Whilst some boys appear to have breasts because of fat on their chest some boys develop a condition known as gynaecomastia. Gynaecomastia causes actual firm breast tissue to develop under the nipples. This is the same type of tissue found in a woman’s breasts and it can only be removed by surgical methods. The problem occurs when obese teenage boys develop an imbalance in their hormones.
At Mr Duncan’s hospital obese boys are instructed to make lifestyle changes such as going to a gym and changing their diets, though many, he says, ignore the advise that they are given. It is a vicious circle that results in the boys becoming fatter and more self-conscious. This often leads to them being bullied at school and affects their concentration and desire to socialise with other children.
A liposuction operation is performed to remove breast tissue and fat from the affected areas in order to give a flatter more masculine profile. Mr Duncan says that the problem is on the increase and that he expects to see more boys coming in to the hospital with the condition each year.