Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, August 4, 1993                   TAG: 9309230280
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: CAROLE SUGARMAN THE WASHINGTON POST
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

GENDER GAP LOOMS LARGE IN FOOD HABITS

When it comes to nutrition and losing weight, men and women face another gender gap. Men tend to be less concerned and somewhat less knowledgeable about nutrition, according to a recent survey conducted by Prevention Magazine and the Food Marketing Institute.

The survey of supermarket shoppers found that women more often read nutritional labels on food products, more frequently changed a purchase decision based on reading the nutrition label and got more A's and fewer D's and F's on the survey's nutrition quiz.

``Women have traditionally been the gatekeepers,'' said Thomas Dybdahl, director of research for Prevention Magazine. ``It's just not `male' to have that health consciousness. There's a sense that we're immortal, that food is not that important.''

While women are generally more health-conscious than men, there's evidence that men's interest in nutrition is growing. A survey published recently by the American Dietetic Association found that 32 percent of men said they were ``extremely concerned'' about nutrition, a 7 percent increase from 1991 and a 5 percent jump from 1992.

Staying healthy and preventing illness were the primary reasons men cited for eating right, followed by physical fitness and weight control. Men concerned about nutrition said they were eating more fruits and vegetables and less beef.

Surveys and anecdotal evidence from health experts come to a paradoxical conclusion about the diet gender gap: While men generally care and know less about eating sensibly, they tend to be better at losing weight and maintaining the loss.

``Women eat more for emotional reasons,'' said Alicia Moag-Stahlberg, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. ``Men who are overweight often don't realize where the [dietary] fat is coming from. Or they're sedentary. When you're eating for emotional reasons, losing weight is a much more complex issue.''

Colleen Pierre, a Baltimore dietitian, agrees. Not only are women more emotional about food, Pierre said, but they choose weight-loss methods that are ``guaranteed to fail,'' have already been on diets and ``try much harder to be perfect.''

During counseling sessions, a woman client will never report that ``I did 87 things right and ate a teeny, tiny doughnut,'' Pierre said. ``Instead, she will say, `I was very bad.' Men are much more matter of fact. They'll say, `I ate this and that.' They're much more able to roll with reality,'' Pierre said.

Women also may eat more under stress, while men are more likely to decrease their food consumption if they're unhappy.

A co-author of a study published last year in Health Psychology may have an answer. ``A much-larger percentage of women than men exercise restraint'' in their eating, since ``there is much more pressure for women to be thin,'' he said. But under stress, it's much easier to abandon restraint.