Favorite Foods - Women Can't Resist Like Men Can

by Jacki Donaldson (Subscribe to Jacki Donaldson's posts)
Feb 2nd 2009 9:00AM

Categories: Diet & Weight Loss, Nutrition & Supplements

It makes me happy when research backs the claim that men have an easier time losing weight than women. I like when science tells me it's normal that my husband can drop 40 pounds in a flash while I lose 15 oh so slowly. It makes me feel like I'm not so unsuccessful after all. Nope. I'm just normal. Same goes for the news that women have a harder time resisting favorite foods than men do.

Why do some people overeat and gain weight while others don't, asked a recent research question. Bev has the scoop here. And here's my take on the answer: Because the weight gainers are typically women, and female brains fire away when they see yummy foods (despite techniques to inhibit this response). Male brains don't.

Why must our girlish brains work this way? One thought is that the traditional role of the female is to provide nutrition to children, and our brains are hard-wired to eat when foods are available. Another perspective blames hormones. Regardless of the reason, the fact is that food choices today are more varied than ever before, making temptation a constant force in our lives.

Now we know. Not only do we have a harder time losing weight, we also have a harder time saying no to the foods that face us. Essentially, the cards are stacked against us. Bummer, huh? All the more reason, I think, to work hard at eating right and exercising lots. What do you think?

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Comments (4)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

mark_the_talker 2-02-2009 @ 11:01AM

I read once in science class that women have smaller brains and therefor are not as well adjusted to making good decisions as men are. This could be the case with the food problem. Women may not be smart enough to stop themselves and prevent themselves from gaining extra weight. This would explain why men live longer than women.

Anon 2-02-2009 @ 11:42AM

Your comment is sexist, stupid, and incorrect. I see many fat men around these days, it's not just the women. As for men living longer than women, wrong again. I see many, many old women widows around, but hardly any old men or widowers.

mark_the_talker 2-02-2009 @ 12:49PM

Sorry but I don't see how my comment is sexist. As far as being stupid and incorrect, maybe I need to explain in terms easier to understand. Sometimes I can be overly intellectual, and that may not be the best fit for this venue. This is after all a health and fitness forum, and lets face it, being healthy and fit is just a matter of deciding you want to be, and then being what you decided. But the fact that you are here reading my comment suggests that you read this article because you couldnt decide what you wanted to be, or you were not able to be what you decided. If there is any truth to the article, then this would mean you are female. Thats not sexist, just an logical conclusion. Sorry if it upset you, but you are what you are, just be happy!

u262f 2-02-2009 @ 4:07PM

For centuries, intelligent men have been wondering why their life spans are shorter:

"Women live longer in almost every country, and the sex difference in lifespan has been recognized since at least the mid-18th century," said Daniel Kruger at the University of Michigan. "It isn't a recent trend; it originates from our deep evolutionary history."

http://www.livescience.com/health/060510_male_mortality.html

Women might not be able to control eating as well as men, but men have more difficulties controlling violence, recklessness, and participation in other life-threatening behaviors.

Also, while male brains tend to be larger, female brains tend to have more neurons. Size doesn't matter if it doesn't serve a useful purpose.

Finally, while less intelligent species spend significant amounts of time in activities related to acquisition and consumption of food, intelligent humans have a much wider array of "food for thought". Decisions about food are only a very small percentage of an intelligent human's overall decisions. It is a statistical fallacy to apply conclusions from such a skewed and specific sample to all decisions in general.