Christmas is still just over a week off, but many couples will already be thinking about starting the New Year with a joint effort to shed the post‑festive extra pounds. Spurring each other on might sound like a good idea but, inevitably, it seems one half of the couple is going to be disappointed. For scientists have now confirmed what many women have suspected: men really do find it easier to lose weight than women. The findings came by chance from The Direct Trial, a project led by Newcastle and Glasgow universities involving almost 300 men and women with type 2 diabetes.