Fat Loss: Men & Women Are Not Made Alike !

Men and women are not made the same. There are many things that make men and women different physiologically, and the fact that we carry and metabolize fat differently is no surprise.

On average, women store between five and ten percent more fat than men, even though men consume proportionately more calories. And, although women typically burn more calories than men during physical exercise, they don’t lose as much fat.

The ability to store more fat makes sense for women during childbearing age. Obviously, additional fat storage is beneficial for women in times of fertility, fetal development and lactation.

Women don’t just carry more fat than men — fat is also distributed differently throughout the body. While fat distribution is different for everyone and has roots in where your ancestors lived, women tend to store their fat in their hips, buttocks, thighs, and lower abdomen. The fat needed for pregnancy and nursing is stored in a woman’s thighs. In fact, gluteofemoral fat — that which develops on the butt and legs — is actually a sign of strong metabolic health, regardless of how it makes you look in your jeans. 

Women also store more subcutaneous fat — fat that’s under the skin and provides a layer of insulation over the muscles, and that also gives women’s bodies their softer curves — than visceral fat. Visceral fat is more of a health risk, as it builds up around internal organs instead of between the skin and muscle.

It’s true — women actually burn fat more efficiently than men. Women’s bodies make more triglycerides than men, but this doesn’t have much effect on serum levels. That means that fat is being used more efficiently by a woman’s body than it is by a man’s. The hormones that make a woman a woman play a part in fat metabolism, too, creating more omega-3 fatty acids faster than men.

All of this means that women carry more fat, but they tend to carry it in a healthier, more easily managed way than men. 

Men’s bodies are more apt to store excess fat in the upper body, especially in the abdominal region. This is what creates that glorious beer belly effect so many men struggle with. Men also tend to lose fat more efficiently not through exercise, but through diet. Fewer calories in means fewer stored in fat reserves.

While women are more likely to develop subcutaneous fat, men are more prone to storing visceral fat — the stuff that coats your internal organs. This tendency to store visceral fat, along with less-efficient fat burning than women, means that men are actually more prone to fat - related illnesses and conditions, like heart disease and diabetes.

So, taking all these factors into account, it does appear as though there are some key differences between men and women when it comes to body fat storage, body fat release, and body fat use. However, you still must keep in mind that regardless of anything, you must burn more calories per day than you consume in order to lose body fat.