In 2020, researchers observed a difference in weight loss between the sexes, even when they stick to the same amount of calories.
Men found it easier to lose weight than women, they revealed.
The findings come from The Direct Trial, a project led by the universities of Newcastle and Glasgow involving nearly 300 men and women with type 2 diabetes.
They had a low-calorie diet (850 calories per day) to see if it would help them lose 15kg quickly (a drop in weight that is hoped to stop their diabetes.
“Both men and women had the same amount of calories, so there should be no confusion,” says Dr George Thom, a research dietitian at the University of Glasgow and co-author of the latest research.
The initial results, published in The Lancet in 2017, found that half of the participants received remission of type 2 diabetes.
But in a new analysis (based on studying participants for another three years, published in the journal Diabetic Medicine), it was found that despite being asked to keep almost identical soups and shakes, a clear difference between the generations were.
After a year of dieting, men lost an average of 11 percent of their body weight. Women lost compared to 8.4 percent.
And the gap continued. After two years, men lost 8.5 percent of their body weight and women 6.9 percent. So why could it be?
‘We asked people to stop all their normal food and replace it with four formulated shakes or soups a day. It is therefore very strict, and this’ black and white ‘approach to weight loss can suit men better,’ said dr. Thom said.
In other words, they stick to it.
“This is possible because the diet culture targets women from an early age, while men are more likely to lose weight at middle age, so women are more diet tired,” he adds.
Men usually carry more weight in visceral fat – the invisible fat around vital organs – while women usually have more subcutaneous fat (stored under the skin) around their thighs, bottom and hips.
This fat distribution pattern in women tends to be protective against a number of metabolic health problems – a combination of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity, according to various studies that have shown that subcutaneous fat is associated with better health.
On the other hand, the intestinal fat found in men puts them at greater risk, especially due to cardiovascular disease.
As a result, it is visceral fat that men lose, which improves the metabolic risk factors, leading to a reduced risk for type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity.
Women who lose diet successfully lose subcutaneous fat, but without the same impressive results in weight loss, the new study indicates, or improves health.