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Weight Loss: Men vs.
Women
Men often lose weight faster than women, because men are
endowed with more of the body's primary energy consumer; that is, muscle. Even
while resting, men, as a result of their greater muscle mass, burn 5 to 10
percent more calories than women.
Shedding pounds from the "right places" is a problem for a
lot of women. Here again, this has to do with the differences between the sexes.
Most of our body fat, regardless of gender, is located under our skin and around
our internal organs. With diet and exercise, we all lose this fat at about the
same relative rates.
The remainder of our fat is called "essential fat" and is
deposited in bone marrow, in various organs, and throughout the nervous system.
However, essential fat in females also includes "sex-specific fat." This fat
mainly accounts for the higher percentage of total body fat in women.
Herein lies the "right places" problem. Although some of this
sex-specific fat is stored in the breasts, most is deposited in the pelvic,
buttock, and thigh region. And once in place, sex-specific fat, as well as all
other essential fat, is hard to dislodge. Some experts say this reflects the
importance of this fat in childbearing and hormone functions.
In short: Women have less calorie burning
muscle than men. Women also have "sex-specific fat," most of which is deposited
below the waist and is stubbornly resistant to diet and exercise. Achieving a
lighter, trimmer figure is, therefore, a little more demanding for the female. |
