Women overeating, an impulse control issue?
Although impaired inhibitory control is linked to a broad spectrum of health problems, including obesity, the brain mechanism(s) underlying voluntary control of hunger are not well understood. We assessed the brain circuits involved in voluntary inhibition of hunger during food stimulation in 23 fasted men and women using PET and 2-deoxy-2[18F]fluoro-D-glucose (18FDG). In men, but not in women, food stimulation with inhibition significantly decreased activation in amygdala, hippocampus, insula, orbitofrontal cortex, and striatum, which are regions involved in emotional regulation, conditioning, and motivation. The suppressed activation of the orbitofrontal cortex with inhibition in men was associated with decreases in self-reports of hunger, which corroborates the involvement of this region in processing the conscious awareness of the drive to eat. This finding suggests a mechanism by which cognitive inhibition decreases the desire for food and implicates lower ability to suppress hunger in women as a contributing factor to gender differences in obesity.
ScienceDaily has a lot more:
“The finding of a lack of response to inhibition in women is consistent with behavioral studies showing that women have a higher tendency than men to overeat when presented with palatable food or under emotional distress,” Wang said. “This decreased inhibitory control in women could be a major factor contributing to the observed differences in the prevalence rates of obesity and eating disorders such as binge eating between the genders, and may also underlie women’s lower success in losing weight while dieting when compared with men.”
Here’s a question: do the sexes differ in time preference?
Labels: sex differences
Related:
http://akinokure.blogspot.com/2009/01/fat-chicks-are-more-likely-to-cheat.html
I think, on average, that women get more pleasure from the taste of food than men do.
I’m not surprised.. the Big Five personality test already pointed to this idea: women score higher on ‘impulsiveness’, and neuroticism as a whole.
don’t they have a better sense of smell, ergo, more taste subtly?
“I think, on average, that women get more pleasure from the taste of food than men do.”
I think, on average, that women get more pleasure from the taste of sweet foods than men do. And men are more prone towards savory/bitter, etc.
I think that women are more likely to gorge on sweet stuff than, say, steak.
Regarding impulsiveness, it may be less harmful to yield to an impulse to eat a quart of ice cream than to, say, punch someone. Or drive 100 MPH. Women don’t tend to do that. But of course, evolution isn’t over!!
it may be less harmful to yield to an impulse to eat a quart of ice cream than to, say, punch someone. Or drive 100 MPH. Women don’t tend to do that.
Unless they’ve got an irresistible impulse to eat a quart of ice cream and someone gets in their way.
Has anyone ever documented a study on the respective behaviour of males and females at shop sales?
Never mind a quart of ice cream, try getting between a woman and a cashmere sweater at 50% off.
A woman once ventured this theory to me: that femaleness is to some extent about taking pleasure from taking things in … And that taking food in is a much safer way to enjoy the “taking in” thing than sex is. What a terrible trick on women that taking in too much food makes them fat, and even less sexually plausible …