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CNN Live At Daybreak

Mars Versus Venus Factor in Eating

Aired December 18, 2002 - 06:22   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, perhaps you're just getting revved up this morning and having a little breakfast this morning. Well, you know what? We've got a battle of the bulge sort of debate for you coming up right here on DAYBREAK.
Lisa Drayer joins us live from New York and she's a registered dietitian and director of nutrition services for Dietwatch.com Incorporated.

Lisa is talking about the Mars versus Venus factor in eating.

Do men have it better than women when it comes to dieting? Is that the question?

LISA DRAYER, NUTRITIONIST: Well, you know, Fredricka, men may be in luck, at least according to the latest study, which found that men who yoyo diet do not have increased risk of mortality from engaging in this type of behavior. Now, previous research has shown that yoyo dieting does increase risk of death from various diseases. But this particular study found no increased risk as long as the men did not have preexisting conditions.

But, before men get too excited, there are some negative consequences of yoyo dieting to consider, and that is when we gain weight back after we lost it, we gain more body fat. And this wreaks havoc on our metabolism and it makes it harder for us to lose weight the next time around.

WHITFIELD: Well, you know, I don't think I've ever heard anything positive about the whole yoyo dieting concept for men or women.

DRAYER: Absolutely. It's negative for both men and women. So just because they don't have increased risk of death doesn't mean that it's a healthy behavior. Also, when men do gain weight, they tend to gain it in the belly. This is what we think of as the beer belly. And this is what's known as visceral fat. And this is deep tissue fat that surrounds the organs and it's associated with increased risk of high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes and also heart disease.

Women have an advantage in the fact that they tend to gain subcutaneous fat. This is under the surface of the skin and this is not associated with health risks nearly as much as visceral fat. But men do have some advantages and that is, which may not be so fair, but men have a greater proportion of muscle. Men have about 10 percent more muscle than women and muscle burns more calories than fat. So this means if a man and a woman weigh the same and they're both sitting at a desk all day, the man will burn more calories.

WHITFIELD: Oh, it's just not even fair.

DRAYER: Not fair at all.

The other thing is that men also tend to crave protein rich foods, whereas women crave carbohydrate rich foods, sweets, cakes and pastas, and this, eating these type of carbohydrates is associated with weight gain.

WHITFIELD: Well, Lisa, it sure is getting harder for all of us to eat for our health or just enjoy eating, period. There are just way too many rules. I can't keep up anymore.

DRAYER: I know, there are a lot of rules. But bottom line is, you know, cutting back on calories, getting enough exercise, whether you're male or female. Because the truth is, you can lose weight. It's not that difficult as long as you're following a regimen. And it's important whether you're male or female to maintain a healthy weight. There's no discrimination there.

WHITFIELD: All right, fair enough.

Thanks a lot, Lisa.

Appreciate it.

DRAYER: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired December 18, 2002 - 06:22   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, perhaps you're just getting revved up this morning and having a little breakfast this morning. Well, you know what? We've got a battle of the bulge sort of debate for you coming up right here on DAYBREAK.
Lisa Drayer joins us live from New York and she's a registered dietitian and director of nutrition services for Dietwatch.com Incorporated.

Lisa is talking about the Mars versus Venus factor in eating.

Do men have it better than women when it comes to dieting? Is that the question?

LISA DRAYER, NUTRITIONIST: Well, you know, Fredricka, men may be in luck, at least according to the latest study, which found that men who yoyo diet do not have increased risk of mortality from engaging in this type of behavior. Now, previous research has shown that yoyo dieting does increase risk of death from various diseases. But this particular study found no increased risk as long as the men did not have preexisting conditions.

But, before men get too excited, there are some negative consequences of yoyo dieting to consider, and that is when we gain weight back after we lost it, we gain more body fat. And this wreaks havoc on our metabolism and it makes it harder for us to lose weight the next time around.

WHITFIELD: Well, you know, I don't think I've ever heard anything positive about the whole yoyo dieting concept for men or women.

DRAYER: Absolutely. It's negative for both men and women. So just because they don't have increased risk of death doesn't mean that it's a healthy behavior. Also, when men do gain weight, they tend to gain it in the belly. This is what we think of as the beer belly. And this is what's known as visceral fat. And this is deep tissue fat that surrounds the organs and it's associated with increased risk of high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes and also heart disease.

Women have an advantage in the fact that they tend to gain subcutaneous fat. This is under the surface of the skin and this is not associated with health risks nearly as much as visceral fat. But men do have some advantages and that is, which may not be so fair, but men have a greater proportion of muscle. Men have about 10 percent more muscle than women and muscle burns more calories than fat. So this means if a man and a woman weigh the same and they're both sitting at a desk all day, the man will burn more calories.

WHITFIELD: Oh, it's just not even fair.

DRAYER: Not fair at all.

The other thing is that men also tend to crave protein rich foods, whereas women crave carbohydrate rich foods, sweets, cakes and pastas, and this, eating these type of carbohydrates is associated with weight gain.

WHITFIELD: Well, Lisa, it sure is getting harder for all of us to eat for our health or just enjoy eating, period. There are just way too many rules. I can't keep up anymore.

DRAYER: I know, there are a lot of rules. But bottom line is, you know, cutting back on calories, getting enough exercise, whether you're male or female. Because the truth is, you can lose weight. It's not that difficult as long as you're following a regimen. And it's important whether you're male or female to maintain a healthy weight. There's no discrimination there.

WHITFIELD: All right, fair enough.

Thanks a lot, Lisa.

Appreciate it.

DRAYER: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com