For women, shedding the pounds can feel like a unending struggle of dieting and exercise with little results. But a new study suggests that there could be a reason why females find it more difficult to lose weight than men.
Researchers say hormones responsible for regulating appetite, physical activity and energy expenditure work differently in the sexes. The discovery could change the way obesity is tackled through targeted medication, experts at the University of Aberdeen believe.
Working with teams from the University of Cambridge and the University of Michigan, they used a mouse model to study how weight gain differs in each sex depending on physical activity and energy expenditure. During the study, researchers were able to transform obese male into lean, healthy mice, but the same transformation did not occur in the female mice.
The project led by Professor Lora Heisler from the Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health at the University of Aberdeen concludes that currently there is no difference in how obesity is treated in men and women. However, the study suggests that the part of the brain that has a significant influence on how we use the calories that we eat is wired differently in males and females. The research, published in the journal Molecular Metabolism, could lead to the development of new sex-specific medications.
