Why women put on weight more easily... and f ind it harder to shif t
IT is the excuse that fullfigured females everywhere have been waiting for.
Scientists have said that it is easier f or women to gain weight than it is for men – and harder for them to lose it.
They blame gender differences in the way the brain is wired for making it more difficult for women to win the battle of the bulge.
Aberdeen University researcher Lora Heisler said: ‘We know that men and women are exposed to the same conditions – we all live together – but there are higher rates of obesity in women, with rates twice the prevalence of those in men in some parts of the world.’
She added: ‘We wanted to find out why it is easier for women to gain weight.’
To discover more, Professor Heisler studied the action of hormones called POMC peptides. Made by the brain, they are known to be crucial to appetite control and are the target of a new obesity drug.
The professor showed that when obese mice made the hormone, they lost weight.
However, male and females didn’t benefit equally. The male mice shed so much weight that they were judged to be healthy once more.
But while the female mice did lose some weight, they remained f i rmly i n the obese category, according to a report in the journal Molecular Metabolism.
The researchers’ experiments showed that while the hormone cut appetite in both sexes, it had also sped up the metabolism of the males and made them more active, leading to them burning off vital extra calories.
It is thought that the same is true in humans, helping explain why so many women struggle with their weight.
The discovery could lead to obesity drugs tailored to the sexes, with those designed for women acting on different parts of the brain from those recommended for men.
Professor Heisler said: ‘ More than half of people in the UK are overweight and one in four are clinically obese. This is an enormous percentage.
‘Given the links established between obesity and serious medical illnesses including cancer, heart disease and diabetes, it is essential that we strive to find new methods to tackle this epidemic to improve our health.’
But with new medicines taking years to develop, the professor says that the best thing women can do in the meantime is to follow the old advice and watch what they eat.
She said: ‘Keep an eye on your body weight. If you are gradually gaining weight, it means that you are taking in a few more calories than your body requires every day, so be aware of portion size.’