Women "burn" more fat than men during a moderate-intensity exercise

Women better mobilize fat than men during physical exercise, according to data presented at the 7th Day of nutrition applied to health (Jonas) by a French researcher who suggested establishing nutritional recommendations tailored to sex on how to perform an endurance training for weight loss.
Physical activity is seeking three mechanisms that control lipolysis, the effect of which is to free fatty acids in the bloodstream and reduce fat stores simultaneously. Professor Michel Berlan, researcher in the Research Unit on obesity Inserm U586 in Toulouse, and his colleagues wondered if the nutritional status, the level of training and gender exerted any influence on these mechanisms.

According to the fifteen studies they reviewed, the practice of fasting exercise induced in people of normal weight, use of fatty acids higher than observed in other nutritional conditions, a said the researcher.

This observation is also true for obese people, fat representing nearly half of the energy expenditure in fasting, against less than a third three hours after food intake.

In addition, Dutch works cited by the French researcher show that the oxidation of lipids from different sources (intramuscular lipids or free fatty acids in the plasma) increases gradually until exercise intensity corresponding to 55% of the maximum intensity after an overnight fast.

In addition to an intensity equal to or greater than 75% of the maximum intensity aerobic fat utilization decreased by 40% in favor of muscle-derived carbohydrates (glycogen) or plasma (glucose), which causes the Pr Berlan to conclude that "for maximum utilization of lipids, an exercise in about 50% of maximal aerobic power optimizes their use."

In addition, aerobic training improves exercise-induced lipolysis in subcutaneous adipose tissue, which calls for an incentive to people for health reasons related to being overweight, physical activity said the researcher.

It also stressed the significant difference between men and women, the latter involving more and better use of fat than men for physical activity of moderate intensity. One of the researcher explanation is that during stress (physical or psychological), women produce less adrenaline than men, which results in a higher lipolysis. In addition, women storing more fat in the men, they would use in more during physical exercise muscle.

"In conclusion, for moderate intensity exercise, mobilizes women and better use of fat than men. Taken together, these results could lead to establishing nutritional recommendations tailored to sex as to how to perform an entrainment endurance for a reduction of fat in overweight subjects, using primarily the fat stored in the body. "