Women have a lower resting metabolism than men. This means they burn fewer calories to maintain their basic life functions such as respiration, digestion, and elimination, then men do.
It is easier for women to gain weight than men because part of the brain is “wired differently” in males and females, a study has found. The discovery could change the way obesity is tackled through targeted medication, experts at the University of Aberdeen believe.
Weight gain was twice as high in women than men, researchers said, with women gaining an average of 12 pounds over 10 years compared to 6 pounds for men. On average, participants gained this much weight in each decade: 17.6 pounds between their 20s and 30s. 14.3 pounds between their 30s and 40s.
During Puberty Girls Grow Fast and Early
They also gain more fat than boys in preparation for their menstrual cycle. They go from gaining about 5 pounds a year before puberty, to 12-23 pounds during puberty as shown below. Girls' growth happens in stages as they tend to fill out before they grow up.
It's Harder for Women to Lose Weight — Really
By nature, women tend to have a lower metabolic rate than men. This means your body uses fewer calories (units of energy) to fuel normal body functions like breathing, thinking, and circulating your blood. The leftover calories are stored as fat.
“In most cases, men have more lean muscle than women, so it's easier for them to lose weight more quickly,” he explained. “The majority of men we see in the gym want to lift weights, while women usually want to perform cardiovascular workouts.
Conversely, losing weight in your 30s and 40s is more difficult than when you're a young adult. (Men and women tend to put on little or no weight after age 40 and lose weight in their 70s, according to HHS.)
Both males and females experience hormonal changes before the 1st physical signs of puberty are manifested. As sex hormones increase, changes in the body's proportion of lean, fat, and skeletal mass occur. For females an increase in body fat begins at 7 years and continues through ages 16-18 years.
Growth Spurt Ages and Normal Growth
Generally, girls get more curvy and boys get more muscular. The timing of weight gain is something to note as well. The growth spurt ages differ for boys and girls. During the start of puberty, around age 10 to 12, girls begin to see a lot of body changes.
The typical fat-gain areas for many women are the hips, arms and thighs, giving them what is termed a 'pear-shape'. The other areas where many women accumulate fat are the chest and the abdomen. Such women have slim arms and legs, and are seen as 'apple-shaped'.
The reason for this difference is that women at some point in their lives may nourish a fetus and then a baby from their own reserves, so women have to stock energy in the form of fat in anticipation of future pregnancies (and must stock even more energy during the last two trimesters of pregnancy).
Men often gain weight steadily starting at around age 30 and continuing until roughly age 55. Throughout life, a man's excess weight tends to be carried as belly fat, which increases his risk of heart disease and other conditions.
On average, women have 6 to 11 percent more body fat than men. Studies show oestrogen reduces a woman's ability to burn energy after eating, resulting in more fat being stored around the body. The likely reason is to prime women for childbearing, the review suggests.
Researchers report that the biggest weight gain in U.S. adults is happening in the mid-20s to mid-30s. They say people in that age group tend to shift focus from physical fitness to other issues such as jobs, families, and finances.
The rate of increase starts to slow in the 30s and 40s, and plateaus in your 50s. After that, the average weight falls. The kids are out of the house and your career is hopefully in order, freeing up more time to take care of yourself. But there are other factors at work at this end of the weight-age spectrum.
Body shape – Another sign of puberty in girls is changing body shape, particularly extra fat in the belly area (some call it “baby fat”). Weight gain can cause anxiety for girls. This is part of normal development, and her body will redistribute the fat from the stomach and waist to the breast and hips.
Most people don't grow any taller after the age of 20, but a recent study published in the Journal of Orthopaedic Research found evidence that the pelvis -- the hip bones -- continues to widen in both men and women up to about age 80, long after skeletal growth is supposed to have stopped.
Men often gain weight until about age 55, and then begin to lose weight later in life. This may be related to a drop in the male sex hormone testosterone. Women usually gain weight until age 65, and then begin to lose weight.
It can start as early as age 9. Puberty is a process that takes place for several years. Most girls finish puberty by age 14. Most boys finish puberty by age 15 or 16.
Muscle is denser than fat, and as it is more compact within your body, as you gain muscle mass, you end up looking thinner, no matter your physical weight. So, if you've been doing a lot of strength training lately, it's likely this is the reason that you're looking fantastic but not dropping those numbers.
According to the study by supplement company Forza, turning 30 is the biggest inspiration for both men and women to lose weight.
You've gained muscle.
And here's an often overlooked fact: Muscle tissue is more dense than fat tissue. So as you gain more muscle and lose fat, you change your overall body composition, which can result in a higher weight, but a smaller figure and better health.
Over time, studies have shown that metabolic rate (how fast we burn calories) starts to slow down by 2 to 3 percent each decade, beginning in our 20s. It becomes more noticeable between ages 40 and 60.
Women do tend to have slower metabolisms than men, but the difference is primarily a function of muscle mass and body size, not gender. We might expect someone with more muscle and less fat to be more metabolically healthy. However, blood sugar numbers tell a different story.
Women, compared to men, have higher percent body fat and deposit it in a different pattern, with relatively more adipose tissue in the hips and thighs. This 'female' fat distribution, independent of total body fat, confers protection against metabolic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and atherosclerosis [1].