Obesity Symptoms in Women vs. Men: Are There Differences?

Women compared to men, are indeed more likely to be diagnosed with obesity and also seek and obtain all types of obesity treatment including behavioral, pharmacological, and bariatric surgery to deal with obesity symptoms. Men also tend to have greater absolute weight loss.

New research shows that obesity does affect different parts of the brain in men and women, potentially requiring sex-specific treatment options.

While few brain imaging studies have indicated how obesity affects eating habits, this study has analyzed different types of brain scans in combination with other clinical information in order to compare differences between males and females with high BMI compared to those with a normal BMI.

Obesity

The researchers do find that specific parts of the brain differed between males and also females with high BMI, thus requiring tailoring treatments to each person’s sex which can be crucial in combating obesity.

Researchers feel it is important to consider differences between males and females if studying obesity.

Know that brain signatures in one’s brain are altered for obese individuals as it has implications for how a person views food and how this in turn leads to food cravings, altered eating patterns, and in turn obesity.

Compulsive eating and hunger

Obesity Symptoms in Men

Women who are obese exhibited changes in emotion-related brain regions that were linked to higher levels of rather compulsive eating. In men, brain regions are related to eating behavior, and also obesity is associated with gut and visceral sensations that are linked to abdominal discomfort and hunger.

Compared with men, women with high BMI had in fact more significant alterations in their neural signatures and also lower mental health scores. This does highlight that females can be more vulnerable to developing food cravings, addictions, and also other unhealthy ingestive behaviors.

How do treatments shape obesity?

 The focus is on highlighting the co-morbidities associated with obesity.

Those having higher BMI report significantly greater childhood adverse events, early life trauma, depression, anxiety, visceral sensitivity (a tendency to obviously notice bodily symptoms with hypervigilance), physical dysfunction, frequent symptoms of general sickness, and also significantly lower physical as well as mental health-related quality of life, treatments for obesity need to be better in addressing these chronic stressors which compound weight loss efforts.

 Such co-morbidities do not go away on their own, but most programs for weight loss do not really address these factors despite their clear influence on the brain and also on a person’s day-to-day choices.

Study findings are an essential step forward in developing personalized treatments for obesity.

The ability to predict sex-specific obesity based on neural alterations does present an opportunity to tailor treatment plans and also preventive measures, particularly for females with high BMI, for which an emotional component can be especially relevant.

Obesity Symptoms in Women

Those who do struggle with obesity need to seek to gain awareness of the underlying drivers and sex-specific pathophysiology so that treatments can be tailored to their individual needs.

In practice, it does include consulting with a dietitian in order to understand the role of lifestyle factors and dietary behaviors in weight control and also a cognitive behavior therapist to address any emotional and stress-related issues, thus contributing to unhealthy eating behaviors.

Conclusion

Medical treatment needs to be sought for obesity symptoms associated with metabolic conditions. Gender differences in obesity exist, but the reasons are unclear. Obesity has biological underpinnings, and also understanding how the brains of people with obesity differ from those without could help with diagnosis and treatment.

Study shows MRI-based imaging studies may be able to help detect differences between people with obesity and those with healthy BMI.