Lengua Extranjera I (Inglés)/ Idioma Moderno I (Inglés) Departamento de Idiomas Modernos.
Facultad de
Filosofía y Letras. U.N.T. Semana 18/05/2020
Sex Differences in Health: Evidence and Explanations
illegal drugs. The only drugs that females
tend to use more than males are prescrip-
tion tranquilizers and sedatives; this finding
holds for all age groups. Among high school
students, males are more likely to have used
cocaine, ecstasy, heroin, and methamphet-
amines than females (Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, 2010a). Averaging
across studies, sex differences in the use of
specific drugs are shown in Table 10.8.
Overweight and Obesity
Obesity is a risk factor for all causes of mortal-
ity, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, hypertension
(high blood pressure), high cholesterol, and
some cancers. Obesity takes different forms in
women and men. Men are more likely to have
android obesity: the apple shape, which con-
sists of extra weight collected around the abdo-
men. Android obesity is measured by the ratio
of waist to hip size. A ratio of more than 1.0
is a significant risk factor for men and a ratio
of more than .8 is a significant risk for women
(Wing & Klem, 1997). Women are more likely
to have gynoid obesity: the pear shape, which
consists of extra weight around the hips. In
TABLE 10.8 SEX DIFFERENCES IN SUBSTANCE ABUSE
Substance Abuse Ratio
Alcohol Males higher (5:1)
Amphetamine Males higher (3–4:1)
Caffeine Males higher
Cannabis Males higher
Cocaine Males higher (1.5–2.0:1)
Hallucinogens Males higher (3:1)
Heroin Males higher (3:1)
Inhalants Males higher
Nicotine Males higher
Sedatives Females higher
Source: Adapted from the American Psychiatric
Association (2000).
Helgenson, V. (2012). The Psychology of Gender (4th Edition). New Jersey: Pearson
369
general, android obesity poses greater risks to
health than gynoid obesity. Among those 45
years old and younger, obesity has a stron-
ger relation to mortality for men, but among
those over 45, overweight and obesity have a
stronger relation to hospitalizations and mor-
tality for women (Han, Truesdale et al., 2009;
Muennig et al., 2006).
Aside from physical health problems,
there are implications of obesity for quality of
life. The social, psychological, and economic
consequences of obesity are more severe for
women than for men (Muennig et al., 2006).
Whereas obese women are less likely than non-
obese women to go to college, there is no rela-
tion of obesity to higher education among men
(Crosnoe, 2007). Obesity is also more clearly
related to depression in White, Black, and His-
panic women than men (Heo et al., 2006).
Definition. Obesity is typically determined
by a combination of height and weight, or the
body mass index (BMI), the calculation for
which is shown in Table 10.9. A BMI between
25.0 and 29.9 is classified as overweight, and a
BMI over 30.0 is classified as obese.
Prevalence. As first indicated by the sur-
geon general’s call to action in 2001, obesity
has become an epidemic in the United States.
In the 2007–2008 National Health and Nutri-
tion Examination Survey, 34% of adults over
20 years old were overweight and an addi-
tional 34% were obese (Flegal et al., 2010). The
rate of obesity has doubled since the 1976–
1980 survey. The increase in overweight and
obesity is due in part to an increase in weight
among the most obese (i.e., the heaviest people
TABLE 10.9 BODY MASS INDEX (BMI)
Weight (kilograms)
BMI calculation:
Height2 (meters)