The Korea Herald

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Women are born to be overeaters: study

By Korea Herald

Published : May 9, 2013 - 18:13

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Women gorging or vomiting are generally considered those who have failed to adapt to cultural pressure and are obsessed with thin bodies. However, according to a recent study from Michigan State University, women are biologically born to be more likely to overeat than men.

The researchers led a feeding experiment on 60 rats, half of them male and half female. Scientists studied the eating habits of each gender group by regularly replacing the food pellets with vanilla frosting.

The experiment resulted in female rats having the tendency to consume vanilla frosting as much as six times more than that of male rats.

The tested rats, with no cultural background or under no social pressure to be thin, clearly prove the existence of ties between biological factors that bring about eating disorders in humans, the researchers said.

Psychology professor Kelly Klump said there may be a possibility of differences in men and women’s brains: one which controls the brain’s natural reward system and the other which understands “risk factors and mechanisms.”

From news reports
(knews@heraldcorp.com)