Exercise benefits only men?

According to a new study, exercise is not equally effective among the sexes and only helps men lose weight.

The difference of working out between the two genders was established in a trial on mice.

Researchers from Colorado University said that brains are hard-wired differently and trigger separate reactions in men and women.

It turns out that while exercise has always been known to prevent weight gain, it only rang true for male mice during the experiment

They hinted the findings, which are in huge contrast to medical knowledge, could trigger gender-specific exercise routines in the future to help them shed the pounds.

Study author Rebecca Foright said it is unacceptable to simply assume females will respond to interventions in the same manner as males.

The experiment saw male and female rats being fed a high fat diet following which they were trained to run on treadmill. After 10 weeks, it was found out that male rats who exercised ate less food and gained less weight compared to their inactive counterparts.

But the exercising females did not reduce their consumption - and weighed just the same as their inactive counterparts at the end.

When the study was repeated in males fed a low fat diet the impact of exercise on body weight was evident even sooner.

The findings appear to confirm there are physiological gender differences in the hormonal signals that influence appetite.