Lessara
Thu, Aug-18-05, 14:59
Do women really eat healthier than men?
By Amy Norton
Special to MSN
Looking at him sitting in front of the TV, barbecued chicken wing in one hand, beer in the other, it might seem unsurprising that most of us tend to think men lag behind women when it comes to eating right.
A number of studies have found that while many men order the steak with a side of steak, women prefer salads and strive for more-balanced meals.
Survey responses, though, don't necessarily reflect what's on people's plates. And experts say that although there's evidence women pay more attention to nutrition information in the media or are more apt to read food labels, that doesn't mean they're acting on what they know.
"We know a lot more from surveys about what people intend to eat than what they actually eat," says Dr. Laurence Nolan, an associate professor of psychology at Wagner College in Staten Island, N.Y.
"Men and women do plan to do different things," according to Nolan, whose survey of college students found that women tended to opt for a balanced meal, while men were prone to ordering meat and holding the vegetables.
But the survey, like others, may only reveal what respondents hope to eat, Nolan says. In real life, he adds, men and women alike are misinformed on nutrition, and are typically way off in estimating their calorie intake.
We are what we eat
And the U.S. calorie count is rising — especially among women, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control's National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) released in February.
Between 1971 and 2000, women's calorie intake increased at three times the rate of men's. On average, women downed 1,877 calories per day in 2000, up 22 percent from 30 years before, while men's calorie consumption went up 7 percent, to 2,618 daily calories.
For both sexes, higher carb intake mostly explained the increase, but it's unclear why women's calorie consumption skyrocketed compared with men's, according to Jacqueline D. Wright, an epidemiologist with the CDC.
Other government research has detected no such gender difference, so the finding may be related to changes in how NHANES statistics were collected over the years. But if the gender trend is "real," Wright says, it is concerning, and it will be important for researchers to figure out the reasons.
Cynthia Sass, a Tampa, Fla.-based registered dietitian and author of the book Your Diet is Driving Me Crazy, says she thinks the calorie jump found in NHANES could have much to do with "stress eating" in women's increasingly hectic lives.
In her book, Sass also points to how being in a relationship can change both men's and women's eating habits. Women, she says, are more likely to take on the role of "food cop," trying to monitor what their guys ingest.
But on the other hand, a woman may feel compelled to "match" her partner's hunger for pizza and chips, especially when they're first dating. Sass says a lot of women she's counseled say they enjoy a wide variety of foods, but tend to yield to the tastes of their strictly meat-and-potatoes mate.
The hormonal factor
One factor that does uniquely sway how women eat is female hormones. When it comes to food cravings, women tend to desire sweets and other carbs, while men often get a hankering for a burger and fries. It's thought that ovarian hormones are at work in women's food cravings, says Dr. Marcia Levin Pelchat of the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia.
Research also suggests that estrogen, through its actions on certain brain chemicals and other hormones such as the "obesity" hormone leptin, suppresses food intake, according to Dr. Paula Geiselman of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, La. So at stages in the menstrual cycle when estrogen is high and "unopposed" by the hormone progesterone, women may eat less.
In contrast, Geiselman says, during the luteal stage — the weeks between ovulation and menstruation, when PMS may kick in — women eat an average of 500 extra calories.
Male hormones, she notes, "don't give men the problems women's do."
The gender gap
But while they may be drawn to sweets, women also consistently give "high ratings" to salads in studies, Pelchat points out. "My guess," she says, "would be that this is because women have more concern about body image."
Body image, experts agree, is likely to play a role in many women's eating habits. But they also point out that a growing body of research suggests men are becoming less cavalier about their love handles. One recent study found that male college students tended to become depressed and dissatisfied with their bodies after viewing commercials of chiseled young men selling cologne.
But if the gender gap is narrowing in this regard, it may be doing so in positive ways as well. Sue Moores, a St. Paul, Minn., nutrition consultant and spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association, says that while women seem to have more of an interest in nutrition, there are signs that men are coming around.
Women still make up the majority of people seeking nutrition counseling or coming to nutrition classes, but Moores says more men are showing more interest compared with when she started her career 20 years ago.
"It used to be," she says, "that they'd just tune you out, and say, 'talk to my wife.'
Source (http://gerd.msn.com/article.aspx?aid=22)
By Amy Norton
Special to MSN
Looking at him sitting in front of the TV, barbecued chicken wing in one hand, beer in the other, it might seem unsurprising that most of us tend to think men lag behind women when it comes to eating right.
A number of studies have found that while many men order the steak with a side of steak, women prefer salads and strive for more-balanced meals.
Survey responses, though, don't necessarily reflect what's on people's plates. And experts say that although there's evidence women pay more attention to nutrition information in the media or are more apt to read food labels, that doesn't mean they're acting on what they know.
"We know a lot more from surveys about what people intend to eat than what they actually eat," says Dr. Laurence Nolan, an associate professor of psychology at Wagner College in Staten Island, N.Y.
"Men and women do plan to do different things," according to Nolan, whose survey of college students found that women tended to opt for a balanced meal, while men were prone to ordering meat and holding the vegetables.
But the survey, like others, may only reveal what respondents hope to eat, Nolan says. In real life, he adds, men and women alike are misinformed on nutrition, and are typically way off in estimating their calorie intake.
We are what we eat
And the U.S. calorie count is rising — especially among women, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control's National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) released in February.
Between 1971 and 2000, women's calorie intake increased at three times the rate of men's. On average, women downed 1,877 calories per day in 2000, up 22 percent from 30 years before, while men's calorie consumption went up 7 percent, to 2,618 daily calories.
For both sexes, higher carb intake mostly explained the increase, but it's unclear why women's calorie consumption skyrocketed compared with men's, according to Jacqueline D. Wright, an epidemiologist with the CDC.
Other government research has detected no such gender difference, so the finding may be related to changes in how NHANES statistics were collected over the years. But if the gender trend is "real," Wright says, it is concerning, and it will be important for researchers to figure out the reasons.
Cynthia Sass, a Tampa, Fla.-based registered dietitian and author of the book Your Diet is Driving Me Crazy, says she thinks the calorie jump found in NHANES could have much to do with "stress eating" in women's increasingly hectic lives.
In her book, Sass also points to how being in a relationship can change both men's and women's eating habits. Women, she says, are more likely to take on the role of "food cop," trying to monitor what their guys ingest.
But on the other hand, a woman may feel compelled to "match" her partner's hunger for pizza and chips, especially when they're first dating. Sass says a lot of women she's counseled say they enjoy a wide variety of foods, but tend to yield to the tastes of their strictly meat-and-potatoes mate.
The hormonal factor
One factor that does uniquely sway how women eat is female hormones. When it comes to food cravings, women tend to desire sweets and other carbs, while men often get a hankering for a burger and fries. It's thought that ovarian hormones are at work in women's food cravings, says Dr. Marcia Levin Pelchat of the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia.
Research also suggests that estrogen, through its actions on certain brain chemicals and other hormones such as the "obesity" hormone leptin, suppresses food intake, according to Dr. Paula Geiselman of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, La. So at stages in the menstrual cycle when estrogen is high and "unopposed" by the hormone progesterone, women may eat less.
In contrast, Geiselman says, during the luteal stage — the weeks between ovulation and menstruation, when PMS may kick in — women eat an average of 500 extra calories.
Male hormones, she notes, "don't give men the problems women's do."
The gender gap
But while they may be drawn to sweets, women also consistently give "high ratings" to salads in studies, Pelchat points out. "My guess," she says, "would be that this is because women have more concern about body image."
Body image, experts agree, is likely to play a role in many women's eating habits. But they also point out that a growing body of research suggests men are becoming less cavalier about their love handles. One recent study found that male college students tended to become depressed and dissatisfied with their bodies after viewing commercials of chiseled young men selling cologne.
But if the gender gap is narrowing in this regard, it may be doing so in positive ways as well. Sue Moores, a St. Paul, Minn., nutrition consultant and spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association, says that while women seem to have more of an interest in nutrition, there are signs that men are coming around.
Women still make up the majority of people seeking nutrition counseling or coming to nutrition classes, but Moores says more men are showing more interest compared with when she started her career 20 years ago.
"It used to be," she says, "that they'd just tune you out, and say, 'talk to my wife.'
Source (http://gerd.msn.com/article.aspx?aid=22)