What is "lipedema"

Lipedema or lipoedema (European spelling) is a chronic disorder of adipose tissue and lymphatic vessel dysfunction "described as a bilateral, symmetrical, flabby swelling of the legs that arises from deposition of adipose tissue starting at the hips and ending at the ankles, like riding breeches". In some cases, the upper arms can also accumulate distinct patterns of fatty tissue.

Lipedema is little known, under recognized, and generally misdiagnosed as simple obesity. Dr. E. V. Allen and Dr. E.A. Hines, Jr. first identified lipedema at the Mayo Clinic in 1940. Despite the fact that it's been named for over 75 years, as a fat disorder primarily in women, it is only recently that interest and education about lipedema is gaining in awareness. Estimates of the incidence of lipedema vary widely, and range as high as 11% of the post-pubertal female population, with estimates of 17 million women in the US, and 370 million women worldwide affected.