So as a group, women appear to gain weight more easily than men. We were surprised to see that. Men may lose more pounds than women, but they tend to have bigger bodies - and therefore more pounds to lose. To lose a pound of fat, a body has to burn 3,500 extra calories, regardless of gender. That said, some factors work against women.
Muscles demand more calories just to exist.
So men, even in their sleep, can burn more calories than women. Women also tend to be more likely at any given time to be dieting than men. Studies have found that dieters, in an effort to try to restrict their eating, often wind up overeating instead. That is a very well-recognized truth. Dr. Ryan also said that women probably have more fat cells for storage on the hips and thighs, so there is naturally more fat to lose there.