There’s Now Scientific Proof: Men Lose Weight More Quickly Than Women

Scientists say the way men’s bodies are built and even where they store fat helps them lose weight more easily than women.

A woman will have to work harder and eat less to lose the same amount of weight as most men. Matthew LeJune/Unsplash

Ladies, if you ever pit yourself against a man in a weight loss competition, don’t be surprised when you encounter a harsh reality.

Men lose weight faster than women. New research suggests men also garner more health benefits than women when they lose weight, too. A study in the journal Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism detailed the weight loss results of more than 2,200 overweight adults in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Each of the adults also had prediabetes, a condition marked by slightly elevated blood sugar levels. People with prediabetes are at a higher risk for eventually developing type 2 diabetes. During the eight-week study, these adults followed an 800-calorie diet of mostly soups, shakes, hot cereals, and low-calorie vegetables.At the end, men lost 16 percent more weight than women—about 26 pounds compared with an average of 22 pounds for women.Additionally, 35 percent of the men and women in the study had normal blood glucose levels and fell out of the prediabetes classification.