Sex differences in the association between dietary restraint, insulin resistance and obesity
Open accessAbstract
Background & aims Restrained food consumption may alter metabolic function and contribute to eventual weight gain; however, sex differences in these relationships have not been assessed. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between restrained eating and insulin resistance and the influence of body mass index and sex on this relationship in a large community sample of both men and women. We hypothesized that restrained eating would be related to insulin resistance and this relationship would be influenced by sex and body mass index.Methods In this cross-sectional, observational study, we studied 487 individuals from the community (men N = 222, women N = 265), who ranged from lean (body mass index 18.5-24.9 kg/m(2), N = 173), overweight (body mass index 25-29.9 kg/m(2), N = 159) to obese (body mass index >30 kg/m(2), N = 155) weight categories. We assessed restrained eating using the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire and obtained fasting morning plasma insulin and glucose on all subjects.Results In men, but not in women, restrained eating was related to homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) (p < 0.0001). Furthermore, HOMA-IR was significantly higher in men who were high- versus low-restrained eaters (p = 0.0006).Conclusions This study is the first to report sex differences with regard to the relationship between restrained eating and insulin resistance. Our results suggest that high restrained eating is associated with insulin resistance in men but not in women.
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Women with obesity report higher food addiction behaviours, cravings, comorbidity and reward sensitivity than men with obesity.
“For example, women with obesity report higher food addiction behaviours, cravings, comorbidity and reward sensitivity than men with obesity 33, 34, 35.”
From History of early life adversity is associated with increased food addiction and sex-specific alterations in reward network connectivity in obesity (2019) · cites this paper as [35]
Compared with men with high BMI, women with high BMI report higher food addiction behaviours, cravings, comorbidity, reward sensitivity and repeated unsuccessful attempts to maintain weight loss.
“Compared with men with high BMI, women with high BMI report higher food addiction behaviours, cravings, comorbidity, reward sensitivity and repeated unsuccessful attempts to maintain weight loss 33, 34, 35.”
From History of early life adversity is associated with increased food addiction and sex-specific alterations in reward network connectivity in obesity (2019) · cites this paper as [35]
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- Authors
- Jastreboff, A. M., Gaiser, E. C., Gu, P., & Sinha, R.
- Affiliations
- Yale University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Sinha, Rajita
- Venue
- Eating Behaviors
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2014-04
- Volume
- 15
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 286-290
- ISSN
- 1471-0153 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC4032476
- OpenAlex
- W1966417535
- Cited by
- 12
- References
- 21
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 1 · 2019: 3 · 2017: 1 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 1
- FWCI
- 1.18
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Eating Behaviors (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- Georgia Clinical and Translational Science Alliance
- National Institutes of Health
- National Institute on Drug Abuse (PL1DA024859)
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (R01DK099039, K12DK094714)
- National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (UL1DE019586)
- National Center for Research Resources (UL1RR024139)
- National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Eating Disorders and Behaviors
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Nutrition, Health and Food Behavior
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Regulation of Appetite and Obesity
- Keywords
- dietary restraint, insulin resistance, obesity, sex differences, body mass index, dietary habits, HOMA-IR, fasting insulin, glucose, weight gain
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Cross-Sectional Studies, Diet, Reducing, Female, Humans, Insulin Resistance, Male, Middle Aged, Obesity, Surveys and Questionnaires, Body Mass Index, Sex Distribution, Young Adult
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