It's not fair, but women have more fat tissue, while men have more muscle. The reasons may go back to prehistoric times when women needed to store fat to protect themselves and their babies from starvation during famine and men developed more muscle for hunting.

It gets even more unfair. Women have a slower metabolic rate than men. It's that muscle thing again—muscle burns calories. The average 50-year-old woman, if she maintains the same weight as when she was 20, will require one-third fewer calories to maintain that weight.

If women steadily gain weight as they age, they put themselves in danger of increasing their serious health risks for heart disease, stroke, diabetes, gallbladder disease, hypertension, osteoarthritis, and some cancers.

Obese women (body mass index greater than 30 or more than 100 pounds overweight) over the age of 45 face a greater risk of death than men of the same age.

Gaining pounds isn't the only factor that impacts a woman—where she carries the weight is also important. Women who carry weight around their waists and have a waist circumference greater than 35 inches increase their risk of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer more than women with a smaller waistline who carry weight on their hips or thighs.

For more information about how you can achieve weight loss for life, contact UI Weight Management at 319-384-6581 or visit www.uihealthcare.com/weight .

Did you know?

• One pound of body fat equals 3,500 calories.
• To lose one pound, you have to reduce your diet or increase your activity by 3,500 calories. This is 500 calories per day if you want to lose one pound in a week or just over a hundred calories per day if you want to lose a pound in a month.
• One hundred calories is less than a can of pop or about six potato chips.

One reason

"One reason women may gain weight during adolescence, pregnancy, or menopause is because their bodies are changing, which can be stressful," says Joseph Dillon, M.B.B.Ch, director of the UI Weight Management program.