Women have a harder time saying no to edible pleasures than men do, according to a study that compared people’s brain activity after they were shown appealing foods. Participants were asked to pick their favorite food from a menu (popular items included bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches, fried chicken, and chocolate cake). The next day, after participants fasted, researchers showed them the choice foods and then asked them to suppress their hunger. While both men and women reported overcoming their hunger, images of their brains suggested that only the men had really quieted the parts of the brain that are activated by food stimulation. According to the authors, this disparity in the ability to beat back hunger may help explain why women are more likely than men to be obese.
Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Jan. 27, 2009