As we age, the distribution of our body fat changes, particularly around menopause.  Most people think of body fat as bad, but fat tissue plays a number of hugely important roles in our health.In today’s episode of ZOE Science and Nutrition, Jonathan is joined by Dr. Sarah Berry and Prof. Deborah Clegg. Together, they debunk the myth that fat is bad, enlighten us about why body fat is distributed where it is, and explore the differences in fat distribution between men and women. Deborah Clegg is a professor and Vice President for Research at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, El Paso. Her research focuses on sex differences in metabolism, adipose tissue, and the brain and the impact this has on our health. Dr. Sarah Berry is one of the world's leading experts on human nutrition. She has run more than 20 randomized clinical trials looking at how humans respond to different fats.Head to zoe.com/podcast if you want to uncover the right foods for your body and get 10% off your ZOE membership.Download our FREE guide — Top 10 Tips to Live Healthier: https://zoe.com/freeguideFollow ZOE on InstagramTimecodes:00:00 Intro04:00 What is body fat?06:32 What is healthy fat?07:52 Female vs male body fat11:56 Why is belly fat the most unhealthy?19:43 Waist to hip ratio21:24 How estrogen affects fat distribution27:41 Perimenopause symptoms31:01 Fat cells producing estrogen36:00 Hunger the menopause38:46 Weight gain and the menopause40:54 Physical changes in men42:28 Exercise and fat distribution 43:26 What to eat during menopause46:37 Estrogen supplementsMentioned in today’s episode: The evolutionary impact and influence of oestrogens on adipose tissue structure and function from Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 2023Menopause is associated with postprandial metabolism, metabolic health and lifestyle: The ZOE PREDICT study from EBioMedicine 2022 Episode transcripts are available here.Have feedback or a topic you'd like us to cover? Let us know here