Sulfur-containing compounds are often added to dried foods like apricots as preservatives to help prevent oxidation and bleaching of colors. The sulfites used to help preserve dried apricots cause adverse reactions in an estimated one out of every 100 people, who turn out to be sulfite sensitive.
At the end of 18 months, however, the pear-shaped people had gained back half of the weight they had lost on either diet. Apple-shaped people gained back almost 1.4 of the 2.3 kg they lost on the low-fat diet but kept off all the weight they lost on the low-glycemic diet.
Female fat distributions. Progesterone & estrogen both play a role in keeping the waist of women smaller. This is because estrogen works against the action of insulin (and testosterone is a belly fat storing hormone in women) while both estrogen and progesterone oppose the action of cortisol. Insulin and cortisol, together with testosterone and low estrogen, are implicated in belly fat deposition in women.