Hunger, the female foe

Hungry? New brain-imaging studies show that women can't control the feeling while men can. Perhaps this is why I absolutely need that fourth helping of lasagna. :(

U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National laboratory performed an experiment in which PET (positron emission tomography) scans were used on participants to monitor their brain activity while being exposed to the pungent aromas of their favorite foods. The study took place over three days of testing, each day different but all following a 20 hour fasting period.

On one of the days (as the three tests were performed in random order for each person) the volunteer was subjected to their favorite treat- they smelled, tasted, and even gazed upon the meal. The scan showed the areas of the brain that the presentation affected by studying where the glucose was being used.

Another day consisted of the same kind of showcase of the food, however on this day the participants were told to control their hunger prior to being exposed to the food.

The third test was just a control, which didn't include the use of food at all.

After each scan the participants were asked to rate their hunger and desire to eat. Not surprisingly, both men and women alike reported less hunger when they had been told to inhibit it. However, the PET scans showed a different story. The lead author of the study, Gene-Jack Wang reflected on the results.

Even though the women said they were less hungry when trying to inhibit their response to the food, their brains were still firing away in the regions that control the drive to eat. In contrast, men’s brain activity decreased along with their self-reports of hunger during the scan when they were asked to keep their hunger in check.

This could possibly be the reason that women have such a difficult time losing weight when it seems easier for men. The study shows that women do try to comply with what is right, but have difficulty because of their brain make-up. In a real world example this may be equivalent to women recognizing that they need to lose weight and even trying to take control of their health, but being sadly inhibited by desires that they have little ability to control.

Wang states that "For many years scientists and the pharmaceutical industry have developed obesity treatments based on the theory that unbalanced nutritional needs are the primary cause of overeating and obesity." With this new research the old theory has been altered in the case of women, hopefully providing the ability to usher in new healthier generations.

Karen Miller-Kovach, chief scientific officer for Weight Watchers International, realizes that this issue is even greater than it may be originally taken as. Many people assume that the brain's of both men and women function similarly in the case of motivation and self-control, citing that the similar percentage of men and women who are obese. While this is possible, Miller-Kovach claims that "Overweight women are more likely than overweight men to accurately assess their own condition." This would lead one to believe that women have a better chance of losing weight and thus the statistics stating that women and men have equal levels of obesity must be incorrect. However this only solidifies the argument that women must have a more difficult time in their struggle, as more recognize the issue but less progress is shown regardless.

There are often specific diets aimed at women perhaps for this reason. Slimquick is one of these aids. Others include Zalestrim, Estrin-D, and Curvelle. The market for these drugs is virtually endless- more and more people every year want to be fit, especially with the growing epidemic America has recently witnessed. However those formulas that are aimed particularly at women gain their success from the difficulty that women have when trying to lose weight as opposed to men.

I found that this new information was actually rather enlightening- not that I want to lose weight but that in my life I've seen others struggle with it, especially women. Here's the commercial that gave me the idea for the blog. I'm sure that many of you have seen it.