It’s been awhile since I did a diet blog. I survived the holidays–up a couple of pounds initially, but Jenny takes care of such things quickly, and I’m back at my goal weight. I’m coming up on 18 months of maintenance now, and haven’t fluctuated more than 3 pounds from my 19.5 BMI during that time.
Anecdotally, it always seems that men have an easier time dieting than women. Just saying the word “diet” makes men look instantly thinner. I had always written that off to differences in metabolism, or perhaps to the survival needs of pregnant women to maintain body weight. Now a group of researchers led by Gene-Jack Wang reports that women have a harder time resisting their favorite foods than men do [1].
Here’s what they did. Participants listed their favorite foods, fasted overnight, and then underwent PET imaging when presented with the foods. The participants were taught to suppress thoughts of food using a “cognitive inhibition” technique. While both men and women said the cognitive inhibition technique made them feel less hungry, only the men showed reduced brain activity in areas associated with appetite.
Whatever you do, don't think about cheesecake!
This study reminded me of David Schneider’s classic thought suppression study, in which people told to avoid thinking about white bears ended up thinking about white bears a lot. I wonder if it’s a good idea to try to suppress thoughts of your favorite foods.
Not only might women have a harder time resisting tempting foods, but we are also being told that elderly women have a harder time staying in shape. Although both men and women lose muscle as they age, women have a harder time converting the proteins they eat into muscle.
I’m all for improving our understanding of why people have trouble maintaining a healthy weight, but I’m hoping that these studies do not serve as an excuse for remaining overweight or obese. What people need to hear is that it isn’t easy to change eating and exercise habits, but that you can do it, people are doing it all the time, and the results are more than worth the effort.
1. DOE/Brookhaven National Laboratory (2009, January 22). Women Cannot Control Their Hunger As Well As Men, Study Shows. ScienceDaily. Retrieved January 25, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090121211340.htm
10 Comments
CFrieband · January 26, 2009 at 3:32 pm
I find this really interesting because I am currently living in a house with three boys and they seem to eat non-stop and never get full. I too have always attributed that to a faster metabolism. I really do notice a difference in the types of food that we can avoid. For example, it is difficult for me to ignore my craving for ice cream after dinner, where as they can be satisfied after having a big meal. Although they may be more hungry than I am, I find myself giving into more food cravings than they do. Another interesting thing I have heard about cravings is that they only last for ten minutes, and if you can get through that time period, you will no longer have a need to eat whatever you have been craving. I’m not so sure if this is true because I often find cravings lasting much longer than 10 minutes.
Very interesting blog!
krusch · January 26, 2009 at 4:28 pm
When I am trying to eat healthy I tend to find myself craving unhealthy foods more often than when I am not watching what I eat. I don’t know if I crave it because I know I should not eat it, or if I crave it because I just naturally do. I have given up on cutting bad foods out of my diet all together and now just try to eat in moderation and not have too much unhealthy food. I also try to get some sort of exercise in daily, even if it is just taking my dog on a walk for 15 minutes. I have noticed that men do loose weight quicker than women do even if they are doing the same thing or on the same diet. It is interesting to see the new research going on as far as women giving into cravings more than men, but could it also have to do with the fact that we have a different chemical make up, such as hormones? Diets are all about taking in less calories that you are burning, so if you are going to eat a high calorie/high fat item, then you better work harder to burn those extra calories.
msirna · January 26, 2009 at 7:05 pm
According to one of your previous blogs on dieting, thinking makes you hungry. Could it be that women are subconsciously more focused on their favorite foods and eating habits then men, and asking them to inhibit these feelings only affects them on a conscious level, so their subconscious is still focused on the food, which leads to them having a harder time resisting cravings? Just a thought. It would be interesting to see more research on this topic.
Sageman4u · January 27, 2009 at 11:18 am
It’s interesting, my family used to keep a little candy jar by the dinner table and it seemed like my mom would never be able to resist a litle chocolate after dinner whether or not she said she was dieting.
In my experience, it seems like women in general (not just elderly women) have a harder time shedding the pounds and gaining muscle than men. A couple I knew for a while were dieting together. They were eating the same things and both spent time togething going for a hike nearly every day. But it seemed like the man comparatively lost more weight than the woman. The woman did actually lose noticeably more weight, but it was only when she did additional classes at their local gym.
Certainly this story doesn’t constitute legitimate scientific research, but still, it is a very interesting topic, one that I feel should be studied more.
KellyThornton · January 28, 2009 at 6:27 pm
I wish I knew about this study sooner, because I have a horrible time pushing aside my cravings. After my boyfriend and I go out and eat a meal together, I always seem to want desert or something extra and he never wants anything. I always thought there was something wrong with me because I am constantly thinking about food when my boyfriend isn’t. He is also 100 pounds heavier than me and I always wondered why I was the one always wanting more food.
I do agree that this study could be hard for women who feel like they can’t do anything to fight the cravings. But I know there are ways to overcome the cravings and the best solution I have found is to stay busy or do a fun activity!
tltaylor · February 4, 2009 at 9:17 pm
As a nutrition major, I learn a lot about nutrition and its affects on the body, but this is usually in a physiological way, not so much the phsychological way. After reading this study, I became more and more curious about the phsycological affects of food. I found a great article on MSN news on dieting and how it influences your short term memory. It’s definetley something to look into, especially if you’re prone to jumping into one of the many fad diets available today.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28546761/
shakiamitchell · February 5, 2009 at 11:58 am
I find this blog very interesting cause I feel like women are always watching what they eat while men get to take down what ever sinful foods they want and don’t seem to gain a pound. In fact most of the men I know like this want to gain more weight and can’t. Like some of the previous bloggers I just figured some people just have better metabolism than others. I’ve considered gender playing a role in this simply because I know women have to bear children and thus store more fat, but primarily I thought each individual just has a different rate of metabolism. Another interesting thing I found about this blog is how older women have a harder time maintaining a low weight. I recently noticed this in older couples. Most older women tend to be more overweight than their husbands. It’s interesting that there is a biological reason behind that. However, it pretty unfair for the ladies!
raquelart22 · February 13, 2009 at 12:07 pm
I’ve never that women who is concern about her weight because I have a high metabolism. I’m that rare women who wants to gain weight. I think that torture to surpress your favorite foods to lose or maintain your weight. I am a fan of eating and I think people abuse using to help deal with other issues their having. Even though ice cream does the body and heart very good after break-up, bad grade on a test, stress, or after having a verbal fight with somone.
raquelart22 · February 13, 2009 at 12:07 pm
I’ve never that women who is concern about her weight because I have a high metabolism. I’m that rare women who wants to gain weight. I think that torture to surpress your favorite foods to lose or maintain your weight. I am a fan of eating and I think people abuse using to help deal with other issues their having. Even though ice cream does the body and heart very good after break-up, bad grade on a test, stress, or after having a verbal fight with somone.
ewalter · March 2, 2009 at 8:23 pm
It makes me so mad that guys seem to have an easier time staying fit. My fiance eats his heart out and wont gain a pound and the sad thing is he wants to gain weight. I can watch what I eat all day and i wont loose a pound. when I even think about dieting i start to gain weight. I dont think it has anything to do with a lack of self controle when it comes to my favorite foods because me favorite foods happen to be fruits and veggies.
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