An article published today in the San Francisco Chronicle examines the gender differences when it comes to fighting obesity. The article is based on a book by Karen Miller-Kovach entitled, "Weight Watchers She Loses, He Loses: The Truth about Men, Women, and Weight Loss". Mr. Miller-Kovach is the chief scientific officer and vice president of program development for Weight Watchers.

The book examines the gender differences when it comes to obesity and how people fight it. The differences also include a why factor, which most people and diet companies tend to ignore. Men don't typically use their looks or appearance as the main driving force in losing weight, while women doe. A man is more likely to begin a fight against obesity for health reasons. Also detailed was the fact that men tend to be hyper aggressive in their fight, while women tend to go through period of aggression and then passiveness.  

Mr. Miller-Kovach does something that was unheard of until her book and programs, she recognizes and appreciates the physical differences between men and women. It's amazing that sometimes our medical research becomes so homogenized that we don't break out gender specific roles, which is the case with obesity research. 

The best example of this is on the CDC's website. If you go to their health page for obesity you can see that gender specific issues aren't addressed or categorized. 

The fight against obesity is one that has many fronts. Thanks to Ms. Miller Kovach's book gender is a new field of battle.

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