‘Real men don’t diet’: An analysis of contemporary newspaper representations of men, food and health

Gough, Brendan

doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2006.09.011

Cited by 207 publications

(195 citation statements)

References 30 publications

(34 reference statements)

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“…Furthermore, masculinity, as a culturally normative ideal of male behaviour, is constructed as the opposite of femininity [13] and weight loss programmes and facilities, could be seen as feminised spaces [14,15]. Similarly, men could distance themselves from the feminised realm of dieting, where women are the 'experts' and dieting is viewed as a feminine activity that is about looking slim and pretty, which is linked to vanity [13,16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Should weight loss and maintenance programmes be designed differently for men? A systematic review of long-term randomised controlled trials presenting data for men and women: The ROMEO project

Robertson

Avenell

Boachie

et al. 2016

Obesity Research & Clinical Practice

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KeywordsWeight loss, weight maintenance, men and women, systematic review 3 AcknowledgementsThis review is one of a series of systematic reviews for the ROMEO project (Review Of MEn and Conflict of interestThe authors have no conflict of interests to declare. Contribution of authorsCR drafted the manuscript under the supervision of AA. FS developed and ran the electronic literature search. CR and AA conducted the eligibility screening, data extraction and quality assessment. All authors contributed to the study design and manuscript preparation. 5 AbstractWe systematically reviewed the randomised controlled trial (RCT) evidence for long-term (>12 months) weight management interventions for obese men in contrast to women to help understand whether programmes should be designed differently for men.We searched 11 databases up to October 2014. Twenty-two RCTs reported data separately for men and women in weight loss or weight maintenance interventions.We found men were under-represented in RCTs of weight loss interventions open to both sexes. Men comprised 36% of participants (4771 from 13,305 participants). Despite this, men were 11% (95% CI 8% to 14%, p<0.001) more likely to be trial completers compared to women. The trials did not report service user consultation and none were designed to investigate whether men and women responded differently to given interventions. Our meta-analysis of 13 trials showed no significant difference in weight loss between men and women, either for weight loss in kg ( p=0.90) or percentage weight loss (p=0.78), although men tended to lose more weight with intensive low fat reducing diets, with or without meal replacements, and structured physical activity/exercise programmes than women.Orlistat was less beneficial for men for weight maintenance. Individual support and tailoring appeared more helpful for men than women.We found evidence that men and women respond differently to, and have different preferences for, varying types of weight management programme. We suggest that it is important to understand men's views on weight loss, as this is likely to also improve the uptake and effectiveness of programmes for men.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Should weight loss and maintenance programmes be designed differently for men? A systematic review of long-term randomised controlled trials presenting data for men and women: The ROMEO project

Robertson

Avenell

Boachie

et al. 2016

Obesity Research & Clinical Practice

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“…According to the popular press, women are seen as experts in terms of diet and health (Gough, 2007), which is framed as women's work, with a caretaking role expected of them (Barnett, 2006). Similarly, compared with men, women have been found to have more positive overall attitudes toward professional help-seeking, a greater willingness to recognize the need for help, and a greater tolerance for any societal stigma associated with help seeking (Ang, Lim, Tan, & Yau, 2004;Krogh, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Help seeking for cardiac symptoms: Beyond the masculine–feminine binary

Galdas

Johnson

Percy

et al. 2010

Social Science & Medicine

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Empirical and theoretical literature suggests that stereotypical gender roles shape men's and women's health help-seeking behavior, and plays an important role in the treatment seeking delays of cardiac patients. We were interested in exploring the ways in which gender informs the experiences and help-seeking behavior of men and women who experienced the symptoms associated with acute cardiac events. We undertook 20 in-depth interviews between October 2007 and July 2008 with 11 men and 9 women recently diagnosed with an acute coronary syndrome in British Columbia, Canada. Participants were encouraged to tell their 'story' of the event that led to hospitalization and diagnosis, with a focus on the symptoms and decision making processes that occurred before and during the activation of health services: seeking the advice of others including colleagues, family members and healthcare professionals; calling 911; and attending an emergency department. Although we anticipated that distinctive patterns of help-seeking behavior aligned with stereotypical masculine and feminine ideals might emerge from our data, this was not always the case. We found some evidence of the influence of gender role ideology on the help-seeking behavior of both male and female participants. However, men's and women's experiences of seeking health care were not easily parsed into distinct binary gender patterns. Behavior that might stereotypically be considered to be 'masculine' or 'feminine' gender practice was shared by both male and female participants. Our findings undermine simple binary distinctions about gendered help-seeking prevalent in the literature, and contribute towards setting the direction of the future health policy and research agenda addressing the issue of gender and health help-seeking behavior.

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“…31 Men's reluctance to enrol in weight management programmes may in part reflect the way some men perceive weight management as a 'diet' or a 'women's' issue. [32][33][34] It may also be influenced by the setting in which such programmes are delivered; for example, a Slimming World (Alfreton, UK) initiative 35 to target men (by offering men-only groups) failed to increase their engagement by > 2% (i.e. from 3% to 5%).…”

Section: Men and Weight Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term weight loss following a randomised controlled trial of a weight management programme for men delivered through professional football clubs: the Football Fans in Training follow-up study

et al. 2018

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Background Rising levels of obesity require interventions that support people in long-term weight loss. The Football Fans in Training (FFIT) programme uses loyalty to football teams to engage men in weight loss. In 2011/12, a randomised controlled trial (RCT) found that the FFIT programme was effective in helping men lose weight up to 12 months. Objectives To investigate the long-term weight, and other physical, behavioural and psychological outcomes up to 3.5 years after the start of the RCT; the predictors, mediators and men’s qualitative experiences of long-term weight loss; cost-effectiveness; and the potential for long-term follow-up via men’s medical records. Design A mixed-methods, longitudinal cohort study. Setting Thirteen professional Scottish football clubs from the RCT and 16 additional Scottish football clubs that delivered the FFIT programme in 2015/16. Participants A total of 665 men who were aged 35–65 years at the RCT baseline measures and who consented to follow-up after the RCT (intervention group, n = 316; comparison group, n = 349), and 511 men who took part in the 2015/16 deliveries of the FFIT programme. Interventions None as part of this study. Main outcome measures Objectively measured weight change from the RCT baseline to 3.5 years. Results In total, 488 out of 665 men (73.4%) attended 3.5-year measurements. Participants in the FFIT follow-up intervention group sustained a mean weight loss from baseline of 2.90 kg [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.78 to 4.02 kg; p < 0.001], and 32.2% (75/233) weighed ≥ 5% less than at baseline. Participants in the FFIT follow-up comparison group (who participated in routine deliveries of the FFIT programme after the RCT) lost a mean of 2.71 kg (95% CI 1.65 to 3.77 kg; p < 0.001), and 31.8% (81/255) achieved ≥ 5% weight loss. Both groups showed long-term improvements in body mass index, waist circumference, percentage body fat, blood pressure, self-reported physical activity (PA) (including walking), the consumption of fatty and sugary foods, fruit and vegetables and alcohol, portion sizes, self-esteem, positive and negative affect, and physical and mental health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Mediators included self-reported PA (including walking) and sitting time, the consumption of fatty and sugary foods and fruit and vegetables, portion sizes, self-esteem, positive affect, physical HRQoL, self-monitoring of weight, autonomous regulation, internal locus of control, perceived competence, and relatedness to other FFIT programme participants and family members. In qualitative interviews, men described continuing to self-monitor weight and PA. Many felt that PA was important for weight control, and walking remained popular; most were still aware of portion sizes and tried to eat fewer snacks. The FFIT programme was associated with an incremental cost-effectiveness of £10,700–15,300 per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gained at 3.5 years, and around £2000 per QALY gained in the lifetime analysis. Medical record linkage provided rich information about the clinical health outcomes of the FFIT RCT participants, and 90% of men (459/511) who took part in the 2015/16 FFIT programme gave permission for future linkage. Conclusions Participation in the FFIT programme under both research (during the FFIT RCT) and routine (after the FFIT RCT) delivery conditions led to significant long-term weight loss. Further research should investigate (1) how to design programmes to improve long-term weight loss maintenance, (2) longer-term follow-up of FFIT RCT participants and (3) very long-term follow-up via medical record linkage. Trial registration Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN32677491. Funding This project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Public Health Research programme and will be published in full in Public Health Research; Vol. 6, No. 9. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information. The Scottish Executive Health Department Chief Scientist Office (CSO) funded the feasibility pilot that preceded the FFIT RCT (CZG/2/504). The Medical Research Council (MRC) funded Kate Hunt and additional developmental research through the MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit Gender and Health programme (5TK50/25605200-68094).

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‘Real men don’t diet’: An analysis of contemporary newspaper representations of men, food and health

Cited by 207 publications

References 30 publications

Should weight loss and maintenance programmes be designed differently for men? A systematic review of long-term randomised controlled trials presenting data for men and women: The ROMEO project

Should weight loss and maintenance programmes be designed differently for men? A systematic review of long-term randomised controlled trials presenting data for men and women: The ROMEO project

Help seeking for cardiac symptoms: Beyond the masculine–feminine binary

Long-term weight loss following a randomised controlled trial of a weight management programme for men delivered through professional football clubs: the Football Fans in Training follow-up study

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