Why do we get middle-aged spread?

Discovery

BBC

Science, Technology

4.3 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 30 January 2017

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Two cases today for Drs Adam Rutherford & Hannah Fry to investigate, involving strength and weight.

The Portly Problem

"Why do we have middle aged spread?" asks Bart Janssen from New Zealand. In this episode we ponder the science of fat, from obese mice to big bottoms.

Why do we put on weight in middle age? And are some types of fat better than others? Hannah meets Prof Steve Bloom at Imperial College, London to discuss why pears are better than apples when it comes to body shape.

And Adam talks to Dr Aaron Cypess from the National Institutes of Health in Maryland, who has created a 'fatlas' - an atlas that maps fat inside the body.

The Strongest Substance

"What is the strongest substance in the universe?” asks Françoise Michel. “Some people say it is spider web, because it is stronger than steel. Is it iron? Is it flint? Is it diamond because diamond can be only be cut by diamond?"

Adam and Hannah put a variety of materials, from biscuits to toffees, under the hammer to test their strength.

In their quest to find the strongest substance on earth they quiz materials scientist Mark Miodownik, engineer Danielle George and spidergoat creator, Dr Randy Lewis from Utah.

Please send your Curious Cases for the team to investigate to [email protected]

Photo: A man works out at a slimming centre in Beijing, credit: LIU JIN/AFP/Getty Images

Presenters: Adam Rutherford, Hannah Fry Producer: Michelle Martin

Transcript

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0:00.0	Thank you for downloading from the BBC.
0:03.0	The details of our complete range of podcasts and our terms of use,
0:07.0	go to BBCworldservice.com slash podcasts.
0:10.0	Hello and welcome to the second episode of the curious cases of Rutherford and Fry.
0:18.0	I'm Dr. Hannah Fry.
0:19.0	And I am Dr. Adam Rutherford.
0:21.0	And today we're dealing with two issues concerning dimensions.
0:26.3	Yes, one soft and squiggy, one not.
0:30.3	Right, yes I'm slightly perturbed by the first question which is to do with the nature of middle age spread.
0:37.4	Yes, this came about after a comment I made in a previous episode about being slightly podgy around the middle.
0:44.0	It's about middle-age spread. It's about, it's about Adam's waistline.
0:48.0	Now let's just put it out there. It's about Adam's waistline.
0:50.0	As I point out repeatedly during the programme, I'm not middle-aged, I'm 41, so technically I cannot have middle-aged spread.
0:57.6	Is that not middle-aged?
0:59.6	45.
1:00.6	Is that true?
1:01.6	Yes. I'm not sure. Why's your voice come really squeaky? I'm not so sure. I think it's time for the music. Put your crisps away Rutherford's, we've got a case to answer.
1:15.8	Oh, I am sorry, yes. In fact, this is a follow-up from a question in the last series.
1:20.4	Why is everything in space round in which we discovered that everything in space isn't in fact round or spherical at all
1:26.4	But a little bit fat around the middle?
1:29.5	Yes, I may have made some mild and light-hearted comparisons.
1:33.9	You certainly did and they hurt me.
	...

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