toothCanada’s University of Waterloo research team builds large-scale computer model
toothFor breakfast, a diet rich in carbohydrates is appropriate for men and fat-rich for women.
toothWomen metabolize fat more efficiently than men
Breakfast is considered one of the important factors that determine the metabolic health of modern people. What you eat as your first meal after waking up from an overnight fast has a huge impact on your energy balance and overall metabolic activity for the day. Accordingly, there is a lot of discussion about what diet is best for breakfast, but an interesting study was recently published showing that the optimal breakfast composition may vary depending on gender due to metabolic differences between men and women.
The results of this study (Modeling sex-specific whole-body metabolic responses to feeding and fasting, research results on how differences in metabolic responses according to gender appear during eating and fasting) were published in the SCI(E) level international journal in the field of biomedical engineering, ‘In Computer’. It was published in ‘Computers in Biology and Medicine’.
A study found that the optimal breakfast composition may vary depending on gender | Source: Midjourney
A research team at Waterloo University in Canada built a large-scale computer model based on data accumulated over several decades to precisely analyze metabolic differences between genders. This model simulates the metabolic pathways of various organs of the human body, especially the liver, muscle, and fat tissue, and through this, it specifically predicted the metabolic response after a meal in men and women.
To determine how men and women processed different nutrients from their breakfast, the researchers set up diets rich in carbohydrates and fat, respectively. As a result, when men consumed a carbohydrate-rich breakfast, their metabolic rate was higher, their blood sugar stabilized more quickly, and their overall energy utilization efficiency increased. On the other hand, when women ate a meal rich in fat, their liver converted fat into glycerol and quickly used it as an energy source, showing greater energy metabolism efficiency.
In particular, the study focused on differences in energy storage and use in the liver depending on gender. In men, carbohydrate storage and use was prominent in the liver, but in women, there was a strong tendency to obtain energy through the fat metabolic pathway. This was analyzed to be because women store glycogen in the liver for a longer period of time and obtain energy by burning more fat in a fasting state. Additionally, the study found that women’s fat metabolism was more active after exercise. The researchers explained, “This is most likely due to the woman’s body’s mechanism to prepare for physiological changes such as pregnancy and lactation.”
Anita T. Layton, Ph.D., lead author of the study, said the study provides important clues for developing gender-specific nutritional strategies. The researchers concluded that women tend to store more fat, but burn fat faster in the fasting state, while men have a higher ability to regulate blood sugar more quickly after carbohydrate intake, making a diet centered on carbohydrate metabolism more advantageous. am.
However, the carbohydrate foods referred to here do not simply refer to processed carbohydrates such as white rice, bread, and noodles, but healthy carbohydrates rich in fiber such as whole wheat bread, oatmeal, and grains. Additionally, fatty foods do not refer to saturated fats such as bacon, but unsaturated fats that are beneficial to health such as avocados, nuts, and olive oil.
