Research
Mixed
Men lose significantly more absolute weight (kg) than women during diet-only and diet-plus-exercise interventions, though percent weight loss differences are smaller and BMI changes are often equivalent between sexes.
Focus on moderate energy restriction and exercise regardless of sex. While men may see a slightly larger number on the scale in absolute kilograms, the percentage of weight lost and health improvements (BMI reduction) are comparable between men and women. Do not change your strategy based on your sex; consistency is key.
GoodQualifiesHIGH confidence
Analysis of effect sizes found small differences in weight loss favouring men for both diet (g = 0.489) and diet plus exercise (g = 0.240) interventions.
Why this rating
Based on a systematic review of 49 high-quality RCTs with meta-analysis.
Source
Effectiveness of weight loss interventions – is there a difference between men and women: a systematic review
Rebecca Williams et al. · Obesity Reviews · 2014
DOI 10.1111/obr.12241
Meta-analysis · 49 studiesCited 227×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
Related findings · Mixed
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