So I am joining the Peace Corps (I leave in September for Zambia - yay!) and have been reading up on Peace Corps info, and one of the things it says is, that men tend to lose weight and women tend to gain weight, due to the fact that in many other parts of the world, carbohydrates are a large part of the diet, and men and women’s bodies process carbs differently.
Which confuses me, because I figured that unless the carbs were processed through the uterus or testes, they would come out basically the same.
Is it true? Do men and women’s bodies really process carbohydrates differently, and if so, how?
That is very weird (interesting, but weird) that hormoes can influence how your body handles what you eat. Now I just hope that the heat doesnt influence the hormones, or something.
For the record, I would like to say that I do not agree with this statement at all.
"Men tend to lose weight and women tend to gain weight, due to the fact that in many other parts of the world, carbohydrates are a large part of the diet, and men and women’s bodies process carbs differently. "
Many women who rely mainly on carbohydrates (such as rice), for example, in China or Japan (where I am originally from) have very low body weights, whether male or female, especially when compared to Americans. There are few overweight people in these two countries.
I’m not sure if you are female or not, but I really would not worry about gaining weight, unless you suddenly start eating more food or exercising less.
I majored in nutrition in college and I learned that weight gain is specifically attributed to eating too many fat and calories (mainly from fatty meat and high-fat dairy foods), and exercising too little.
So, you wrote: “Is it true? Do men and women’s bodies really process carbohydrates differently?”
I would have to say no.
Each person, regardless of gender, processes carbohydrates differently, depending on their own individual metabolism and body composition.
Also, I forgot to say Good Luck with the Peace Corps! I think its a wonderful thing that you are doing. I hope you can help many people and learn a lot yourself from those same people.
Thank you! I didnt really believe that statement to be the real reason men would lose weight and women would gain weight in the Peace Corps. I figured it has something to do with a) men need more calories than women to begin with (more muscle, faster metabolism) and b) in many countries, women are discouraged from doing physical activity, so they end up gaining weight. I am glad to have someone else say that such reasoning as I quoted in the OP is wacky : )
And thank you for your good luck wishes! I am very excited - I get to live in a mud hut! With a thatch roof! And pit latrine! (The pit latrine is the only thing I am really worried about - I have images of spiders congregating in there at night ‘OK - this time when she sits down, lets half of us drop from the ceiling and half crawl up over her crotch.’
