Calorie Counting Can Be Macho

May 29, 2007 — -- Weight Watchers and NutriSystem, two of the biggest diet programs sold on the retail market, are banking on the idea that men are perfectly willing to count calories and manage their eating by buying weight loss products.

Hoping to ease the stigma surrounding men trying to lose weight, both have introduced male spokespeople.

Dan Marino, the former Miami Dolphins NFL quarterback, became the first male spokesperson for the Men's NutriSystem Diet Program last summer. And he is now joined by "Dancing With the Stars" personality and former 'NSYNC boy bander Joey Fatone.

Not to be left behind, Weight Watchers recently announced that actor Greg Grunberg from the popular television series "Heroes" will be a face for the brand.

"Real men are fat too," said Jackie Newgent, a New York-based nutrition consultant. "Both the diet industry and men have woken up to the fact that there has been an inequality."

Social Stigma

The CDC reports that nearly 71 percent of American men are overweight or obese. But when a man heads to the diet section of his nearby bookstore, he's often inundated with pink covers, feminine titles and a startling number of female authors.

While the women's club attitude in the diet industry is slowly cracking, some experts say they wonder how much of an impact this stigma has had. And more importantly, they say it's unclear how effective a more "macho" approach to dieting will be for creating long-term weight loss.

"It's not clear that the stigma on male dieting is the problem," said Dr. Lee Kaplan, director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Weight Center in Boston. "It may be more of an educational issue, with men not focused on weight, or not as knowledgeable about the potential medical danger of obesity."

Kaplan also points out that the success rates associated with commercial weight loss programs leave much to be desired.

A 2006 review of commercial weight loss programs from the Annals of Internal Medicine found that even programs that offered the best immediate results were not necessarily successful over the long term.

They revealed that while successful participants lost up to 10 pounds initially, they gained back almost half of that after two years.

Drawing Attention to the Problem

Whether or not a diet program is the best way to achieve weight loss goals, Kaplan said the key is that men are becoming more aware of weight and health.

Even if there is no long-term weight loss, these programs "may influence men to improve their diet and reduce their risk of diet-related diseases such as heart attack, diabetes and stroke," said Kaplan.

Indeed, adding a male-friendly appeal to weight loss could help create a change in thinking.

"It has been acceptable, even funny, for men to have beer bellies," said Newgent, who added that beer bellies are, quite simply, fat bellies.

But with the encouragement of manly man figures and former pro athletes, Newgent said, "It's now OK to be a man on an eating plan."