There’s science behind the difference in men’s and women’s weight gain

An estimated 61 percent of the United States population is overweight or obese, reports the Society, with women having higher rates of obesity than men.

By DOROTHY COX
The Trucker Staff

9/30/2008

So you think it’s frustrating and weird that you and your spouse or boyfriend eat the same things, yet you’re the one who gains the weight.

Or, maybe you eat significantly less and you still gain weight while he can eat pretty much whatever he wants and not put on the pounds.

The Society for Women’s Health Research says there’s a reason for that.

For one thing, women by and large have a higher percentage of body fat than men, and women are apt to store more fat in their bodies than men.

The Society explains it this way: Serotonin helps regulate food intake and appetite behavior. As body mass index (BMI) increases, the amount of serotonin synthesis decreases, presumably to indicate fullness at lower levels of food intake. In men, this decrease occurs when men reach a BMI that would classify them as “overweight,” whereas women do not experience this drop in serotonin synthesis until reaching a BMI classifying them as “obese.”

This is bad news, not just because it’s still bathing suit season but because obese women are particularly susceptible to diabetes and cardiovascular disease and have an increased risk of several major cancers, especially postmenopausal breast cancer and endometrial cancer. Obese women who gain weight experience greater increases in blood pressure than their male counterparts, as well.

An estimated 61 percent of the United States population is overweight or obese, reports the Society, with women having higher rates of obesity than men.

For adults, a body mass index of 25 or more is considered "overweight" and a BMI of 30 or more is considered "obese."

Pregnancy and menopause are considered to be significant factors in the development of obesity in women, which suggests “that fluctuations in reproductive hormone concentrations uniquely predispose women to excess weight gain,” says the Society’s Web site.

Leptin, a molecule produced by fat cells, is an important signal in the regulation of appetite and energy expenditure, and is thought to play a key role in controlling body weight. The level of leptin in the blood is correlated with BMI, and is far higher in women than men at every BMI level. This may be part of the reason why women are more likely than men to become overweight.

And here’s a real kicker: when losing weight, men are more likely to lose fat within the abdomen, whereas women are more likely to lose fat that resides just under the skin. Because of this difference, men experience greater declines in triglyceride levels and increases in HDL cholesterol (“good” cholesterol) levels compared to women losing the same amount of weight.