Hot search! Can a small belly protect the uterus and ovaries? Excessive abdominal fat is very harmful!

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"Women's small belly is to protect the uterus and ovaries"

Recently, the Weibo topic #A woman's small belly is to protect the uterus and ovaries# has become a hot search, attracting widespread attention. Many people believed it and said, "Finally I found the meaning of the small belly!" "I feel comforted!"

Rumor Analysis

This statement is not rigorous.

1. The uterus and ovaries are mainly protected by the pelvis and fixed by ligaments. Fat does not wrap the uterus and ovaries, and the protective effect is very small;

2. Too little or too much fat is not good, maintaining a moderate amount is the key.

Copyright images in the gallery. Reprinting and using them may lead to copyright disputes.

The truth: A small belly cannot protect the uterus and ovaries

The space in the human body can be roughly divided into three parts: the thoracic cavity, the abdominal cavity and the pelvic cavity. The thoracic cavity is protected by the ribs, which protect the heart and lungs; the abdominal cavity contains the stomach, intestines, liver, gallbladder and other organs involved in digestion. The bones have little restriction on it, so it is convenient to eat more whenever you want; below the abdominal cavity is the pelvis, and the space in the pelvis is called the pelvic cavity, which contains the uterus, ovaries, bladder and rectum.

Image from wiki

Following the belly button down, you can feel the border of the pelvis in front of the body, called the pubic symphysis, which is a landmark that distinguishes the abdomen from the perineum. When we talk about the "little belly", we usually refer to the area between the belly button and the pubic symphysis, and here comes the problem.

The uterus and ovaries are located in the pelvic cavity and basically do not extend beyond the plane of the pubic symphysis. When we perform gynecological examinations, we often need to lift the uterus upwards to touch the top of the normal uterus from the abdomen. There is no uterus and ovaries behind the belly, so how can it protect the uterus and ovaries? So don't rely on your belly to protect your uterus and ovaries.

The real protector : the pelvis and ligaments

Just like the skull to the brain and the ribs to the heart and lungs, the pelvis provides solid protection for the uterus and ovaries, but in addition to this, the ligaments also play an important role in their fixation.

The uterus and ovaries in the pelvic cavity are not stacked in a cupboard like pots and pans. They have their own ligaments to ensure that they remain in a relatively stable position. The uterus has four groups of ligaments, some of which fix the uterus from the bottom to prevent it from prolapse from the vagina; some maintain the uterus in the middle position from both sides to prevent it from twisting left and right; and some maintain the uterus's forward tilt and forward bending shape. The ovaries on both sides also have two ligaments, one connecting to the pelvis and the other connecting to the uterus, ensuring that the ovaries are always in a relatively fixed position.

With the protection of the pelvis, the uterus and ovaries, two important organs, will not be easily impacted by external forces; with the fixation of ligaments, the uterus and ovaries will not twist or roll into a ball at will during large activities such as turning over and jumping, and hurt each other. Therefore, the pelvis and ligaments are the real protectors of the uterus and ovaries.

Copyright images in the gallery. Reprinting and using them may lead to copyright disputes.

The role of fat

The hot search topic also mentioned: "The uterus, ovaries, and fallopian tubes are tightly wrapped in soft abdominal fat." This sentence may make some friends still have expectations: Maybe fat still has some protective effect? ​​When we deliver fragile items by express delivery, we often fill the surrounding with foam to reduce shock. Can fat also protect the uterus and ovaries in this way?

The answer is still: Unfortunately, no.

If you look closely at the picture below, you will find that the area around the uterus and ovaries is actually very clean, and there is no fat "tightly wrapped". When gynecologists perform surgery on the uterus, ovaries, and fallopian tubes, they never need to remove the fat that wraps them. The yellow tissue marked "fat" in the picture is the fat of the mesentery or greater omentum. They have a heat preservation function, and have a buffering, shock absorbing and protective effect on the gastrointestinal tract. They also participate in some immune and metabolic processes. They are very important for the gastrointestinal tract, but they do not directly protect the uterus and ovaries.

Weibo screenshot

Back to the topic of this article, the "little belly" is mainly caused by the accumulation of subcutaneous fat in the lower abdomen. The fat of the greater omentum and mesentery belongs to visceral fat, which is separated from subcutaneous fat by multiple layers of muscle and fascia. Visceral fat itself does not directly protect the uterus and ovaries, so it is even less convincing to argue that subcutaneous fat has a protective effect.

However, fat is not completely useless for the uterus and ovaries. The human body needs a proper amount of fat to maintain a variety of physiological functions, and too little or too much fat is not good.

Low body weight increases the risk of infection, which means that people who are too thin are more likely to catch a cold, flu, or be attacked by other pathogens. Low body fat percentage can also lead to hypothalamic amenorrhea, affect estrogen levels, and lead to bone loss and other low estrogen-related problems.

There is no need to say much about the harm of excessive fat. As far as the female reproductive system is concerned, excessive body fat can affect ovulation and menstrual cycles, and may also increase the risk of endometriosis, uterine fibroids, endometrial polyps, endometrial cancer, ovarian cancer and other diseases. Long-term excessive body fat can also affect pelvic floor function, leading to pelvic organ prolapse, stress urinary incontinence and other pelvic floor dysfunction diseases. For women who are planning to have children, obesity is also an unfavorable factor for conception and pregnancy health.

Therefore, being too thin or too fat is unhealthy. The Chinese Residents' Dietary Guidelines recommend that the BMI (calculation method and unit: weight in kg ÷ height in m squared) of healthy adults (18-64 years old) should be maintained at 18.5-23.9 kg/m2, and the BMI of the elderly over 65 years old should be slightly higher, at 20-26.9 kg/m2. As long as the body fat is within the appropriate range, there is no need to worry about having a little belly, because health itself is beautiful! As for the uterus and ovaries, they are protected by the pelvis and ligaments, so don't expect too much from a little belly!

Looking in the mirror of rumors

Issues such as health and body shape have always attracted everyone's attention. Some people who want to "attract attention" to gain traffic or who don't know the reason often take advantage of the public's anxiety and spread various related rumors. These rumors seem to be reasonable and well-founded, but blindly believing in them will harm our health. I hope everyone will pay attention to distinguishing and look at them rationally.

References

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[9] Chilaka C, Toozs-Hobson P, Chilaka V. Pelvic floor dysfunction and obesity. Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol. 2023;90:102389. doi:10.1016/j.bpobgyn.2023.102389

Author: Doctor Feidao Duanyu

Reviewer: Lan Yibing, deputy chief physician, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine