While we won’t trot out the tired adage detailing how women are from Venus and men are from Mars, there is no denying differences between the two sexes. And, beyond stereotypical quirks distinct to both populations, there are often very real variations in the way health conditions play out over time — like in the case of obesity.
According to new research from the European Association for the Study of Obesity, women display higher levels of inflammation and cholesterol, while men tend to develop risky abdominal fat and signs of liver stress.
In the case of women, widespread inflammation can increase their chances of developing heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. For men, the belly fat is considered a kind of visceral fat — one known for enveloping organs and increasing the risk of metabolic conditions and heart problems. Researchers suggest these differences are impacted by hormones, fat distribution and immune system activity.
In short: Obesity’s impacts are good for neither. Understanding these differences, though, might pave the way for researchers to look toward therapies that are targeted and differentiated by sex, testing their findings in larger populations and how it all comes back to clinical risk.
It’s an evergreen issue, after all; in 2023, an estimated 1.5 billion adults across the world were contending with some kind of metabolic syndrome, which is a term for a family of conditions that raise the risk of a person experiencing a stroke, heart problems and diabetes.
In some ways, it’s reassuring to know that many of us are dealing with our weight, regardless of which planet we’re from … but good health is a universal boon.