The FastDay Forum

Here's a silly but nerdy side-effect of 5:2 that I've been wondering about.

Recently I noticed that I seem to be getting a lot more build up of belly-button fluff than I used to. I remember getting it a lot as a younger man, but haven't had much for a while.

Reading the wikipedia article on the subject lead me to this paper on pubmed: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19231087

The author concludes that the build-up of navel fluff is mostly due to hair around the navel, which is why it's something that affects men more than women. My hypothesis is that although hair may be the primary factor in causing build-up, the size of your gut may be a factor in mitigating its effects. This is perhaps due to a more curved entrance to the navel when you're fatter.

Of course my experience is just a single anecdote, so I'm wondering if any other blokes have noticed a similar effect.

Edit: Corrected a silly error where I suggested that it affects women more than men instead of the other way around.

Thought belly button fluff was a man thing! Not something I've ever noticed, will pay more attention in future!

Ha ha very interesting topic, canny wait to see the responses!!!

Thought belly button fluff was a man thing! Not something I've ever noticed, will pay more attention in future!

It is definitely more of a man thing! Silly brain melt when typing my post! I'll correct it!

I know that there are way more women posting here than men, but have no other guys noticed this? Ah well, another promising hypothesis consigned to the rubbish bin of history...

[carorees]

I think you had better ask this guy:
http://somekindofexplanation.blogspot.co.uk/

He has answers for everything! For example, this explained a lot for me:

@ComedyPunkz asked Why is bed more warm & comfy on weekday mornings than on weekend mornings?
Etienne Duvet’s pioneering methodology for lying in bed thinking about stuff, Bedpoststructuralism, posits that the reality of the external world recedes as the self snuggles further under the covers. This means that to the snoozer the outside world only has meaning in so far as it is not as nice as the bed. It therefore follows that the colder and more horrid the outside world the cosier the bed must therefore always already be. Thus on a cold weekday in February in Croydon the whole idea of getting out of bed collapses in on itself, and shortly thereafter so does the person trying to get up, a concept known as Indifférance.

@Your Funny Uncle: Well I love the hypothesis but I think it should have been posted on Monday coming. When I was the age of my avatar the ladies would have been delighted to check the state of my belly button. Now I feel it is TMI for an open forum!

@carorees: now that's real science!

@Your Funny Uncle: Well I love the hypothesis but I think it should have been posted on Monday coming. When I was the age of my avatar the ladies would have been delighted to check the state of my belly button. Now I feel it is TMI for an open forum!

Come on! Spill the beans!

I think you had better ask this guy:
http://somekindofexplanation.blogspot.co.uk/

He has answers for everything! For example, this explained a lot for me:

@ComedyPunkz asked Why is bed more warm & comfy on weekday mornings than on weekend mornings?
Etienne Duvet’s pioneering methodology for lying in bed thinking about stuff, Bedpoststructuralism, posits that the reality of the external world recedes as the self snuggles further under the covers. This means that to the snoozer the outside world only has meaning in so far as it is not as nice as the bed. It therefore follows that the colder and more horrid the outside world the cosier the bed must therefore always already be. Thus on a cold weekday in February in Croydon the whole idea of getting out of bed collapses in on itself, and shortly thereafter so does the person trying to get up, a concept known as Indifférance.

Ha! Love it! Some kind of effect similar to a reversed osmosis. Your body wishes to be in the area with the highest concentration niceness...

[carorees]

You should read his blog, it's hilarious. I particularly like his explanation of American spelling and the great U shortage that resulted in having to drop the letter u from words like colour so as to ensure there would be enough left to spell USA!

Hmmm, interesting hypothesis. While we wait for our local Pub(Med)crawler carorees to find a study or two - have you taken into account confounding factors? Age affects hair growth, hormonal changes due to age and weight loss might affect hair growth, and the distention of the belly skin might increase the distance between hair follicles. Also, have you or any others on this forum observed changes not only in the shape of the umbilical opening, but also in depth and diameter? Is the belly button now covered by less fluffy clothing like trousers instead of shirts and cardigans? Enough questions for a PhD thesis. Double blind randomized study. Or even better - another IgNobel prize!

The base layer of my clothing has remained constant throughout my time on 5:2 (I pretty much always wear t-shirts) so I think that in my case that can be ruled out as a confounding factor. The other questions are pertinent, but I don't want to get fat again just to measure myself! I think we need to recruit new starters for a study...

You should read his blog, it's hilarious. I particularly like his explanation of American spelling and the great U shortage that resulted in having to drop the letter u from words like colour so as to ensure there would be enough left to spell USA!

ROFLMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!

You should read his blog, it's hilarious. I particularly like his explanation of American spelling and the great U shortage that resulted in having to drop the letter u from words like colour so as to ensure there would be enough left to spell USA!

Working in a reception area is NOT a good place to read this blog - tears of laughter now running down my face..... must contain myself and finish reading this blog when I get home

My dear funny Uncle .
Thankyou so funny....he he.

I lost my belly button years ago just after my third child, so I couldn't tell you much about its fluff holding capacity.I believe it to be somewhere in the vast folds of the post pregnacy wasteland that is my stomach.I'm not sure if losing weight is going to help me in my search for it or not.3lbs lost and no sign of it yet.However, my jeans do fit much better, I think I could easily give up all hope of its return in exchange for a couple of dress sizes.

Perhaps fluff is an undocumented side effect of the fasting diet? Or maybe its just your navel's way of keeping itself cozy in this very cold winter we're having.Just a thought.

It is funny that I have never thought of this until now. But belly button fluff was a revelation to me when my husband and I were first married (we were very young) and now, 27 years later, I don't recall it being a concern of his anymore and I have certainly not noticed it. It could be to do with the more convex shape of his torso compared to the 6 pack he had as a youth. His torso is shrinking (not due to 5:2 as he is Type 1 diabetic - just due to sheer hard work and dedication) so we shall see what eventuates in the future!.