These Are the Sex Differences in Diet

Men and women think differently, behave differently, have a different structure, and that's why it should be not such a surprise they eat differently as well. A new research presented at the recent 2008 International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases in Atlanta, Georgia, shows us how.

Indeed, men remain those blood-thirsty carnivorous beasts, being more prone to engulf meat and poultry, while women are those peaceful vegetarians, addicted to fruits and vegetables. The hunters remain hunters, the gatherers remain gatherers.

The study used data from the population survey of the Foodborne Disease Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet), from May 2006 to April 2007, made on 14,000 American adults.

"There was such a variety of data we thought it would be interesting to see whether there were any gender differences. To our knowledge, there have been studies in the literature on gender differences in eating habits, but nothing this extensive," said lead researcher Beletshachew Shiferaw.

It appeared that men not only were more likely to consume meat and poultry items, but they ate relatively more duck, veal, and ham than women, and also some shellfish like shrimp and oysters.

Amongst vegetables, women prefer carrots and tomatoes, while men eat more asparagus and brussels sprouts. The preferred fruits of the women were strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and apples.

Women also consume more dry fruits, like almonds and walnuts, eggs and yogurt compared to men. And while men prefer frozen hamburgers, women want them fresh.

The team also focused on the consume of 6 risky foods (that can cause food intoxications): undercooked hamburger, runny or undercooked eggs, raw oysters, unpasteurized milk, cheese made from unpasteurized milk and alfalfa sprouts. Men consumed more undercooked hamburger and runny eggs, while women more alfalfa sprouts. This data could help public health officials to apply targeted approaches for preventing and treating food intoxications.