excerpt sunday times

The Sunday Times - Britain



July 31, 2005

Hormones in water blamed as more men seek breast reduction
Sarah-Kate Templeton



A SHARP rise in the number of men requesting breast- reduction
operations is being blamed by surgeons on the effects of excess female
hormones in tap water and food.

Clinics are reporting a doubling in the number of operations being
carried out over just one year. According to surgeons, the male
breasts examined are similar in structure to those of women and are
not simply fat deposits caused by overeating.



They believe the condition, called gynecomastia, is caused by traces
of the female contraceptive pill in tap water and hormones used to
promote the growth of farm animals.

Yannis Alexandrides, a surgeon at the Kosmeticos clinic in Harley
Street, central London, carried out one male breast reduction a month
four years ago but is now doing one a week.

“Hormones contained in the food we eat, particularly fast food, may be
one of the reasons why we are seeing this increase,” said
Alexandrides.

Alan Kingdon, a cosmetic surgeon and medical director of the Cosmetic
Surgery clinic in London, has witnessed a similar increase in demand.
He has studied the material removed from men’s breasts and has found
mammary gland tissue usually found only in women.

“We are seeing a group of male patients who have glandular tissue
growing in their breasts that are feminine in appearance,” he said.
“This group of patients appears to be on the increase.

“I can only speculate as to the causes, but I would suspect that the
use of oestrogen in the food chain is a factor.”

Professor Kefah Mokbel, a consultant breast and endocrine surgeon at
London’s St George’s and Princess Grace hospitals, said he was now
treating about 150 men a year for breast reduction