Weight Loss: Men vs. Women

Men often lose weight faster than women, because men are endowed with more of the body's primary energy consumer; that is, muscle. Even while resting, men, as a result of their greater muscle mass, burn 5 to 10 percent more calories than women.

Shedding pounds from the "right places" is a problem for a lot of women. Here again, this has to do with the differences between the sexes. Most of our body fat, regardless of gender, is located under our skin and around our internal organs. With diet and exercise, we all lose this fat at about the same relative rates.

The remainder of our fat is called "essential fat" and is deposited in bone marrow, in various organs, and throughout the nervous system. However, essential fat in females also includes "sex-specific fat." This fat mainly accounts for the higher percentage of total body fat in women.

Herein lies the "right places" problem. Although some of this sex-specific fat is stored in the breasts, most is deposited in the pelvic, buttock, and thigh region. And once in place, sex-specific fat, as well as all other essential fat, is hard to dislodge. Some experts say this reflects the importance of this fat in childbearing and hormone functions.

In short: Women have less calorie burning muscle than men. Women also have "sex-specific fat," most of which is deposited below the waist and is stubbornly resistant to diet and exercise. Achieving a lighter, trimmer figure is, therefore, a little more demanding for the female.