Men and Body Image: Guys Lose 2x the Weight in All-Male Groups Than in Co-ed Ones

It’s long been acknowledged that overweight women prefer to exercise and attend weight-management classes with other women. Surprisingly, it turns out that men may have the same body-image issues.

Research presented at the recent European Congress on Obesity in Lyon, France, found that men enrolled in a 12-week, all-male weight loss class drooped an average of 14 pounds and reduced their waistlines by an average of two inches. But when men were in classes where most of the other participants were female, the guys lost only seven pounds over the 12-week course.

Men are more likely than women to be overweight, but less likely to be classified as obese. According to Researcher Professor Steven Robertson, of Leeds Metropolitan University, at least some of the difference in results is due to guys feeling like they were part of a team, the guy and the competitive nature of being in a male-environment.

In an interview with The Daily Mail (UK), Zoe Hellman, head of public health at Weight Watchers, which funded the research, said, “A lot of the men did say that they felt a very female-dominated meeting might put them off contributing or talkingabout things that were important to them.” Experts presenting at the Lyon conference summed it up a bit differently, explaining that some men felt bashful about discussing their “chubby” bodies in front of women.

Read more about this study here.

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