Yes, Men Lose Weight Faster Than Women. Here’s Why

Women who have gone on a diet alongside men may have noticed a frustrating outcome: The pounds seem to fall off the men, while stubbornly sticking to women. Now, a new study delves into differences that take place when men and women diet — and confirms that, yes, men do lose weight faster.

In the study, published online Aug. 7 in the journal Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, the researchers tracked more than 2,000 overweight adults with prediabetes from Europe, Australia and New Zealand. For eight weeks, the participants followed an 800-calorie, mostly liquid diet that consisted of soups, shakes and hot cereals, plus a daily intake of 1.5 cups (375 grams) of low-calorie vegetables, such as tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce.

At the end of the eight weeks, 35 percent of the men and women had normal blood-glucose levels and no longer had prediabetes, according to the findings. (Prediabetes means that a person has slightly elevated blood-sugar levels— a change that raises his or her risk of developing type 2 diabetes.) In addition, the researchers found that the men lost about 26 lbs.(11.8 kilograms), on average, over eight weeks, compared with about 22 lbs.(10.2 kg), on average, in women