Do Men Find it Easier to Lose Weight than Women?

It often seems that men find it easier to lose weight than women. Perhaps it is because men are more inclined to just get on with it, whereas women have a tendency to moan about their weight rather than to actually tackle the problem. Of course, this is not always true. There are women who manage to lose weight successfully and maintain a healthy weight, whilst there are men who go from diet to diet and fail to achieve lasting weight loss. Overall, though, it seems that weight just isn't as much of an issue for men as it is for women.

Losing weight isn't particularly easy for anyone, but men have the advantage of being able to consume more calories than women. Men tend to be taller than women and have a different physical composition, which means their bodies require a greater number of calories to function. Thus, although both men and women have to reduce their calorie consumption, men are able to consume more calories overall. A woman trying to lose weight might cut her daily calorie intake from 2000 calories to 1500 in order to lose a pound a week, whilst a man will go from 2500 to 2000.

This may not sound a lot, but 500 extra calories could amount to two small bars of chocolate or a few biscuits, which when you're trying to lose weight seems more than it is. It isn't just food that is the issue, though, since exercise is also part of the weight loss equation. There may be plenty of male and female fitness fanatics, but it generally appears that overweight, unfit women are less inclined to increase their activity levels than men. Men are often better at setting themselves fitness goals that ultimately lead to weight loss, whereas women regard exercise as primarily for the purpose of weight loss.

It may be the case that there are just different expectations of men and women. Whilst men are expected to be physically fit and muscular, women are supposed to be slim with curves in all the right places. There is generally more pressure on women to be slim than there is on men, though, since more importance is given to the way women look. At the same time, women go through changes that men don't experience which will affect their weight. Women have children and go through the menopause, which obviously means that a woman's shape changes over time.

It may not be possible to determine whether men find it easier to lose weight than women, but for many women this certainly seems to be the case. It doesn't really matter, though, because it is evident that members from both sexes are having difficulty controlling their weight. It is this that people need to work on, rather than trying to find a quick and easy way to lose weight when weight loss is designed to be hard.