The Paper of the Month for November is ‘Sexual dimorphism in the context of nutrition and health‘. The blog is written by author Matthew G. Pontifex et al, and the paper is published in the Proceedings of the Nutrition Society.

The way we respond to the various constituents of our diet may differ depending on whether we are males or females. Given that females have been largely underrepresented in such research to date, aspects of the diet we believe to be beneficial or deleterious may not hold true for half of the population. These so called ‘sex differences’ relating to diet are further complicated by the ageing process. For example, reproductive ageing in females leads to the menopausal transition, altering the hormone profile and key processes such as metabolism. As such it is important as nutritional researchers that we comprehend how components of our diet are influenced by sex across the lifespan.

To get a sense of how this research is progressing and identify areas requiring further development we conducted thorough literature review, attempting to consolidate current research exploring how various dietary patterns (Western, Mediterranean, Vegan/Vegetarian, Ketogenic) and dietary constituents (Fibre, PUFA, plant bioactives) are influenced by sex.

This review highlights the considerable differences that exist between males and females in response to these selected dietary patterns and constituents (e.g. the metabolism of fat). Furthermore, differences appear to be both age and context specific, differing across lifespan and certain aspects of health and disease (e.g. cancer vs cardiovascular disease). Given these findings it is conceivable that promising dietary strategies may have been previously missed as sex differences might not have been considered/accounted for. This supports the notion that future nutritional research should account for sex differences and provide robust analysis of between sex differences. 

Each month a paper is selected by one of the Editors of the six Nutrition Society Publications (British Journal of Nutrition, Public Health Nutrition, Nutrition Research Reviews, Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, Journal of Nutritional Science and Gut Microbiome). Take a look at the entire Nutrition Society Paper of the Month Collection.