Do Men Need More Calories Than Women?

It isn’t fair that most men lose weight easier than women. There are many reasons this occurs. Most of those reasons lead to the fact that most men burn more calories daily than women do. They may exercise less, eat more, and still lose the same amount as their female counterpart or more. Part of the reason is that the male body is typically bigger. The bigger you are, the more calories you burn. If you carried two 20-pound dumbbells everywhere, you’d burn a lot of extra calories. It only makes sense that a 190-pound male would burn more calories than a 150-pound woman.

Muscle mass makes a difference.

Muscle tissue requires more calories to maintain than fat tissue does, so the more muscle tissue you have, the more calories you’ll burn. Female hormones cause women to have a body composition that’s higher in fat, while male hormones cause more muscle tissue. The average American male has 75-86% muscle tissue, but women’s bodies average 60-76%. The extra muscle tissue causes men to burn more calories.

Hormones play another role in calories required.

Besides allocating fat to muscle, hormones also can increase muscle tissue. Males increase testosterone at puberty. That increases HGH and builds muscle strength and size. Females also have testosterone, but it’s not the dominant hormone. Estrogen is dominant in female bodies. Testosterone increases metabolism. The higher your metabolism, the more calories you require.

There are exceptions.

Discussing calories burned requires focusing on generalizations. Activity level, build, metabolism, gender, weight, and other factors play a role in the calories burned. A very active female who works out regularly and has a high percentage of lean muscle mass will burn more calories than a man of the same weight who never works out, even though the average female may need 600 fewer calories a day than men.

• Men tend to have a larger skeletal size and denser bones. They can carry more weight without being overweight. If both a male and female weigh 130 pounds and are 5’5″, the woman will look heavier but require fewer calories than the man does.
• Age plays a role in the number of calories necessary. It goes back to the amount of muscle mass. After age 30, people start losing muscle mass every decade unless they work to maintain it.
• Women can improve their efforts to lose weight by starting an exercise program. It helps build muscle tissue and boosts metabolism. Exercise also burns extra calories.
• Exercise also helps put the pep in your step and boosts your energy level. The more energy you have, the more you’ll do and the more calories you’ll burn daily. Regular exercise also helps you look more youthful and provides benefits for your health.

For more information, contact us today at Thrive Fitness Atlanta