The fat gap between men and women: Scientists find sex-specific brain signals fueling obesity — with women more likely to overindulge when sad and men more likely to binge
Scientists have found gender-specific brain signals that fuel obesity — and it could open the door to “his and hers” weight-loss pills.
They found that obese women are more driven by comfort food and cravings compared to obese men, who are more likely to binge and eat a lot of calories in one sitting.
Researchers in California asked 183 participants, who had different BMI values, to fill out questionnaires and undergo a series of brain MRI scans.
They found changes in parts of the brain network connectivity of people with higher BMI in both sexes.
Obese women were more likely to have brain changes in emotion-related areas, while obese men were more likely to have changes related to gut feelings (stock image)
In women, however, they identified certain regions and networks associated with early life trauma — consistent with previous studies that found that obese women may have more anxiety than obese men.
Women may be more sensitive to the sight, smell and taste of ultra-processed foods, the study found, with an increased risk of developing cravings and food addiction.
The findings support previous research conducted by the same team, which showed that emotional eating and compulsive eating play an important role in female obesity, but that men’s eating behavior is often influenced by a greater awareness of gut feelings.
About four in ten adults in the US are obese and almost a quarter are overweight in the UK, with men slightly more likely to be overweight.
In the journal Brain Communications, the team writes: ‘To our knowledge, this is one of the few studies showing an association between sex differences in brain signatures in individuals with a high BMI.
‘Changes in these networks suggest that compared to men, women with a high BMI have a greater vulnerability to develop hypersensitivity and salience to highly palatable foods, and more changes in intake behaviors such as food cravings and food addiction.
“Our findings shed light on the importance of personalized obesity treatments that take into account the gender of the affected individual.”
The latest study, led by scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), recruited 42 men and 62 women who were at a healthy weight and 23 men and 55 women who were overweight or obese. All were between the ages of 18 and 55.
Each was questioned about their behavior and mental health, including childhood trauma, food addiction and any bouts of anxiety or depression.
Then they also underwent three MRI scans to assess the structure, function and connectivity in their brains.
For obese women, the results showed changes in the areas associated with early life trauma — consistent with previous studies that found that obese women may have more anxiety than obese men.
The scientists also found that these women may be more sensitive to the sight, smell, and taste of ultra-processed foods.
This could cause overeating and put them at higher risk for food cravings, they warned.
Learning how to target the different areas of the brain responsible for cravings in men and women could lead to sex-specific drugs, the researchers said.