Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Weight, female vs male



As I learn from my friends, male tends to loss weight faster by working overnight or prefer outdoor activities such as soccer, badminton, and most popular gym. Female prefers indoor activities such as bakery, housework, gardening but I saw some like outdoor activities as well, however; why female tends to has weight problems compare to male?

From sex differences, females generally have a higher percentage of body fat than male. The normal range of % fat for female is around 24-31 % while for male only 16-24%. unhealthy % of fat for female is >32% while for male is >25%.  Females have a much higher level of estrogen and progesterone, which can encourage fat storage, while males are low in these hormones and instead have more testosterone present, which encourage muscle growth. Hence, female hormones makes extra calories to convert fat into food.

Women are much likely to eat for some reasons - during vacation, joyful mood and party. They do not realize and indulge a large portion size of foods especially desserts which look small but can provide a lot of calories from sugar and fat. The tendency to crave for sweet foods such as chocolate is heavier compare to male as it is able to stimulate ‘happy’ hormone. 

But I've seen cases where male faces difficulties in losing weight too, just females are losing weight slower than male in my experience. The road to weight loss is a journey, there are factors that affect the result as well such as gene, stress and so on. Plain and simple, do measure your body far frequently to plan your diet ahead. Have a good journey.