a new study from researchers at york university gives the skinny on why men are more likely to suffer from
obesity related conditions, such as cardiovascular disease and
diabetes.
the research,
which appears in the journal iscience
, uncovered “striking” differences between the cells that build blood vessels in the fatty tissues of male mice compared to that of females.
“people have used rodent models to study obesity and the diseases that are associated with obesity — like diabetes — but they’ve typically always studied male rodents, because females are resistant to developing the same kinds of diseases,”
said tara haas
, study lead and professor at york’s school of kinesiology and health science. “we were really interested in exploring that difference because, to us, it spoke of something really fascinating happening in females that protects them.”
previous research
by haas and her team discovered that when female mice become obese, they begin to grow a network of new blood vessels that provide oxygen and nutrients to their expanding tissue. male mice, on the other hand, were found to grow considerably fewer blood vessels under the same circumstances.
armed with this knowledge, the researchers used software to help them sort through thousands of genes with a focus on those connected to blood vessel growth. that found that processes associated with the proliferation of new blood vessels were high in female mice, while those associated with inflammation were high in males.