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2 common life behaviors Men are more prone to insulin resistance than women | sedentary | Diabetes | High sugar diet

The phrase “men and women are different” is not only reflected in the appearance of the body: different sexes, the human body also has different reactions to unhealthy lifestyles. Sedentary and high sugar diets are more harmful for men over a short period of time, the study found.

When people reduced their daily step count from 10,000 to 5,000 steps over ten days while drinking six cans of sugary drinks a day. What will happen?

In a new study published in the medical journal “Endocrinology”, 36 healthy young men and women who took part in the experiment organized their lives according to the diet and activity mentioned above. After ten days, only the boys who suffered from high sugar drinks and a sedentary lifestyle developed insulin resistance, as well as a reduction in a hormone called Adropin.[1]

The study concluded that the development of insulin resistance caused by a high-sugar lifestyle and exercise showed gender differences: men were more susceptible to this harmful lifestyle than women.

Insulin is one of the hormones that affects blood sugar, and when the original insulin concentration is less effective in lowering blood sugar, it is called insulin resistance, which is characteristic of type 2 diabetes.

Adropin is mainly secreted by the brain and liver, but can also be produced in peripheral tissues such as the heart and the gastrointestinal tract. Adropin has many effects: including helping to regulate body weight, glucose and lipid homeostasis, and maintaining cardiovascular system function. Obesity, aging and insulin resistance can reduce Adropin levels.[2][3]

You Nengjun, director of You Nengjun Clinic, pointed out that estrogen in women affects Adropin, and young women have relatively strong estrogen secretion, so they can secrete more Adropin. However, if young women do not maintain good habits in diet and daily activity, they will also develop insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.

In his outpatient clinic, there are 10 and 12 year old girls who gain weight due to poor lifestyle habits, eventually leading to type 2 diabetes at a young age.

Nengjun also note that before the age of 55, there are more men with diabetes, but after the age of 55, the proportion of women with diabetes is higher than the proportion of men. He pointed out that developing healthy living habits should start at a young age.

Cai Xiuchun, a professor at the Sports Science Institute of Taipei City University, also said that women should not drink drinks with confidence because artificial sweeteners can also cause excessive contraction of the uterus.

A Taiwanese study found that if pregnant mice were continuously given the artificial sweetener acesulfame potassium (Ace K), which is equivalent to the sweetness dose of drinking 2 cans of zero-calorie cola per day, they found after 2 months that acesulfame potassium (Ace K) Potassium esters increase intrauterine pressure and oxytocin-induced contractions. Hypercontraction of the uterus can lead to the risk of premature birth, endometriosis and dysmenorrhea.[4]

Cai Xiuchun reminded that many drinks now do not add real sugar, but high fructose syrup or sweeteners.

Artificial sweeteners can cause the uterus to contract excessively. (Shutterstock)

Men and women have different fat distribution and are more likely to have insulin resistance

They found that men and women are really different. Young women are protected by estrogen, and the incidence of cardiovascular disease before menopause is much lower than men. However, osteoporosis is more common in postmenopausal women than men.

There are also differences between men and women for problems such as obesity and metabolic syndrome which are common among modern people.

Cai Xiuchun said that the fat distribution of men and women is different. Men’s body fat is mainly in the abdomen, so men have more visceral fat. Women have more subcutaneous fat.

Abdominal obesity is considered a major risk factor for metabolic syndrome, and insulin resistance is significantly associated with the degree of abdominal obesity.[5][6]

A German study published this year in the scientific journal Biology of Sex Differences found that even with a similar body mass index (BMI), men had higher indicators of abdominal obesity such as waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio than women. Among obese people, the prevalence rate of metabolic syndrome is also 67.6% in men, which is higher than 45% in women..[7]

In addition to storing energy, human fat also secretes hormones, including important hormones such as adiponectin and leptin. Adiponectin improves insulin sensitivity and blood sugar control, while leptin suppresses appetite. In general, women have significantly higher levels of adiponectin and leptin than men.[8][9]

However, men should not be discouraged by this. Cai Xiuchun pointed out that with the same weight training, men can gain muscle faster and can develop more prominent muscle lines. Because men have androgen and more bone mass than women, they can bear more load when doing weight training. At the same time, men have faster muscles, and explosive training is more effective.

Increasing muscle helps to consume fat, and muscle can also regulate glucose homeostasis in the body: 80% of blood glucose is taken up and used by muscle.[10]

What are the types of retraining and what are their advantages and disadvantages?  (Shutterstock)
With the same weight training, men gain muscle faster and can develop more prominent muscle lines. (Shutterstock)

Combined with heavy training and aerobic fat loss, it is beneficial in blood sugar regulation

Insulin resistance is a common phenomenon, and people with insulin resistance are generally overweight. You Nengjun and his research team found that “reducing fat is three times as effective in regulating blood sugar as gaining muscle.”

If you want to lose fat, improve insulin resistance and obesity, exercise is the best way. However, the progression of the disease generally has a process, and it will take some time to reverse it. But if you take immediate action to make positive changes, there will always be changes in your body. It takes half a year to a year or even two years to achieve the loss of normal blood sugar and body fat through exercise. After the reversal, we must work hard to maintain the health of the indicators.

People can adapt first by reducing sedentary walking and increasing walking. But walking alone is not enough, you need to combine weight training and cardio.

The body’s muscle mass decreases with age, but strength training builds muscle. Cai Xiuchun noted that women have slower muscles and are more suitable for long distance and high repetition muscle strength training. For example, increasing the number of dumbbell lifts, rather than increasing the weight of the dumbbells, is more beneficial for women to build muscle.

Aerobic exercise increases Adropin. Extending aerobic exercise time helps maintain a good metabolism, reduce fat, improve body posture and blood sugar metabolism.[11]

Chi Nengjun suggested that the ratio of aerobic and weight training time should be at least 2:1, and no matter what type of exercise, it is better to increase some exercise every 2 weeks.

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Responsible editor: Li Qingfeng