Getting to the Meat of Gender Differences
Reported March 21, 2008
(Ivanhoe Newswire) — We know men come from Mars and women come from Venus. But do they serve different foods on those planets?
When it comes to their dining pleasure, a new study finds American men go for the meat, while women tend to choose veggies.
Researchers from the Foodborne Disease Active Surveillance Network find men are more likely to report eating meat and poultry items — especially duck, veal and ham. On the other side of the gender divide, women say they pick fruits like strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and apples, and veggies like tomatoes and carrots. Women are also more likely to eat dry foods, such as almonds and walnuts. Eggs and yogurt are also more likely to be consumed by women.
In addition, men are more likely to eat risky foods like undercooked hamburgers and runny eggs, while women are more likely to eat alfalfa sprouts.
To our knowledge, there have been studies in the literature on gender difference in eating habits, but nothing this extensive, Beletshachew Shiferaw, M.D., epidemiologist and a lead researcher on the study, was quoted as saying.
Researchers say the information is important for public health officials. The reason we looked at consumption and risky behaviors was to see if there was a statistically significant difference between men and women and if this information could be used by health educators to target interventions, Dr. Shiferaw said.
SOURCE: Presented at the 2008 International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases, Atlanta, Ga., March 16-19, 2008