A disposable absorbent garment includes a body chassis having a terminal front waist edge, a terminal back waist edge longitudinally spaced from the terminal front waist edge, a first length defined between the terminal front waist edge and the terminal back waist edge, and a laterally extending centerline defined half way between the terminal front and back waist edges. An absorbent insert is fixedly secured to the body chassis. The absorbent insert has a retention region including an absorbent material. The retention region has first and second longitudinally spaced boundaries and a second length defined between the first and second boundaries. The second length is less than or equal to 50% of the first length, and at least 70% of the second length is positioned between the centerline and the terminal front waist edge. There is no absorbent material disposed outside of the retention region defined between the first and second boundaries. In one embodiment, the body chassis is formed from separate front and rear body panels. A method of assembling a disposable absorbent garment is also provided.