Men are better at suppressing their appetites when facing food, says a new study, which may explain why obesity rates are slightly higher among women.
In a study of 23 healthy, non-obese patients, researchers found that men were better able to lower their desire for grub when performing a self-control technique after being presented with their favourite food.
In two experiments, the researchers asked the study participants to fast for 17 hours and then either focus on a favourite food or practice a technique called cognitive inhibition to suppress thoughts of eating and hunger.
When the subjects focused on food, brain scans showed that hunger and desire for food increased at similar rates in both men and women.
But when subjects practiced cognitive inhibition, the differences were apparent. While the technique suppressed hunger in both genders, the technique significantly lowered the desire for food only in men.
The brain scans showed that cognitive inhibition techniques led to a decrease in activity in parts of the brain involved in emotional regulation, conditioning and motivation.
Studies show that these regions of the brain are involved when humans become conscious of the desire to eat.
The research, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), may help explain why obesity rates among women are slightly higher compared to men, the authors suggest.
"Our findings of a lack of response to inhibition in women are consistent with behavioural studies showing significantly higher scores in disinhibition (tendency to overeat in response to food stimuli when presented with palatable food or under emotional distress) in women than in men," the authors wrote. "The decreased inhibitory control in women could underlie their lower success in losing weight while dieting when compared with men."
A global study published in the journal Circulation just over one year ago found that 27 per cent of the world's women are obese, compared to 24 per cent of men.
That same study found that 71 per cent of women, compared to 56 per cent of men, had excessive abdominal fat.
According to the researchers in the PNAS study, the findings must be replicated in larger studies before they become widely accepted by the medical community.
As well, further study must be done on the role hormones play in the ability to control food-related messages, which may also explain the gender discrepancies.
