Wellness Wednesday

Could Women Be Genetically Predispositioned To Be Less Likely to Change Their Dietary Habits When Exercising Than Men?

According to a recent study conducted by the University of Missouri-Columbia, genetic predisposition may be behind a lack of change in poor dietary habits in women who exercise compared to men who exercise. 

       The obesity epidemic in America is continually worsening, with 90% of Americans admitting to not reaching the set recommended daily amount of time for exercise. However, for those who do exercise, they still may be having trouble losing weight. A new study conducted by the University of Missouri-Columbia has conducted an experiment using male and female rats delves into the reason behind why some people lose weight when exercising and others don't. The answer they found lies in changes in dietary habits that are accompanied by an increase in exercise. 

       The experiment was designed by splitting the male and female rats into two groups; one group that exercised and one group that did not. The rats were fed the same diet for a week and were then fed an option of three diets for the next four weeks: high fat, high sucrose, and high corn-starch diet. After four weeks with access to all three dietary plans, the researchers found that the sedentary male and female rats preferred the high-fat diet, the male rats who exercised ate half as much of the high-fat diet compared to their sedentary male counterparts and preferred much more of the other two options. The female rats who exercised, however, preferred the high-fat diet AND consumed more calories than their female sedentary counterparts. There is much more research warranted concerning the choice in a diet for women when exercising compared to men, however, this experiment noted that the female rats had a higher threshold for rewards, making running perhaps more satiating for males than females. This notion would put females at a higher risk for obesity due to an increased difficulty in changing dietary habits compared to males.