Men and women need different diets say experts

Men and women should not follow the same diets, scientists warned today.

Researchers in Australia found the two genders process food in different ways.

The discovery means many existing diet plans such as the Atkins diet, which are aimed at both sexes, may have to be rethought to be most effective.

"When it comes to choosing the right diet, we need to look more closely at the individual, their sex and their reproductive stage in life," saidProfessor Rob Brooks of the University of Sydney and Massey University, New Zealand.

The team also warned that diets may work differently for people depending on their age.

"It may be, for example, that women in their child-bearing years need a different diet from those who are postmenopausal," said Professor Brooks.

The researchers tested their theories on Australian black field crickets.They found that the lifespan of both male and females was maximised by high-carbohydrate, low-protein diets.

However, reproductive success differed dramatically between the sexes when the carbohydrate-protein balance was changed.

"What men and women need to eat might be more dramatically different than we had realised," said Professor Brooks.