1. Community
  2. Men's health
  3. Sex Chromosome Aneuploidies

Body fat & height

Posted , 3 users are following.

Cynosure
Cynosure

My question is regarding body fat, height & Klinefelters. Can someone with the syndrome ever lose the weight through exercise etc? Or is it impossible? & also I've read that being tall is a symptom. Is it possible to be short and have Klinefelters?

1 like, 6 replies

6 Replies

  • XXYGuy
    XXYGuy Cynosure

    Posted

    Well dieting and exercise of course.  

    How short is short?  I'm 5'9"  my XY younger brother is 6'3" - yes there are 2 reasons why XXY males can be taller, one is the influence of the additional X in childhood, and we know that is true as many XXX females in childhood are taller than their XX counterparts.  And the other is because of delayed closure of the epipheses, which are the parts of the bones to do the growing.   Becasue of insufficient  oestrogen the long bones don't stop growing fast enough and the males can be excessively tall.  So obviously those XXY males who do not develop KS until later in life, say as a guess 16, they may well have stopped growing by then, as their testes did produce sufficient Testosterone, sufficient enough to be converted to oestrogen, and their long bones stopped growing as a result.

  • john03425
    john03425 Cynosure

    Posted

    Hi Cynosure,

    Yes the body fat can improve either by testosterone and/or by exercise, say at a gym, for example. However, when we achieve senior status exercise can be more daunting.  It doesn't matter your height for you are still eligible for Klinefelter's syndrome.  Have you been diagnosed?

  • Cynosure
    Cynosure

    Posted

    @ XXYGuy. Thanks. That was really informative. I'm 5"6 btw, so yeah pretty short lol. 

    @john03425. Nope, no formal diagnosis as yet. I've just had an FSH/LH test so hopefully that'll shed some light. I suspect Klinefelters for quite a few reasons, including body fat (& gyno) since hitting puberty (22 now), which doesn't seem to budge through any amount of exercise! 

    One more thing for you guys if you'd be able to inform me. I have quite a lot of body hair. I'm guessing like height this doesn't rule out an XXY diagnosis, but is body hair growth completely linked to testosterone levels? Thanks again both of you!

    • XXYGuy
      XXYGuy Cynosure

      Posted

      The biggest, most important, indication of KS is tiny testes (balls), why XXY is not well known about, IMO.  Of course tiny testes isn't just an indication of Klinefelters' syndrome, there's also Kallmann syndrome, in which the males have tiny testes as they literally don't start puberty.  Sparse facial and body hair on their own are also indications, and just because an adult, or teen, male has  sparse facial and/or body hair is simply an idication to do further testing.  It is possible for an XXY adult male to develop facial and body hair depending on his personal response to testosterone.  If your testes are normally sized that is not a good indication of KS, but then it is possible to have normally sized and functioning testes and be XXY.  The only definitive test for XXY is a genetic test, a karyotype.

      Since there are many symptoms of KS, no single one can be seen as a difinitive indication, again in my opinion.     

    • Cynosure
      Cynosure XXYGuy

      Posted

      Thanks, again very informative!! I know the genetic test is the only definitive test but surely there'll be an abnormal result from the LH or FSH test if I do have Klinefelters, right? Or again could even that be normal?
    • XXYGuy
      XXYGuy Cynosure

      Posted

      When I was dianosed my LH was low but within the normal range, my FSH was within the normal range, and my testes were less than 1.0ml in volume, so gonadtropin levels can be very misleading.  How can I have 'within the normal range' gonadtropins and tiny balls?  rolleyes 
Back to top

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.