Fitter Leaner Healthier

Forget the stereotypical image of the average guy who couldn’t give two figs about his appearance, diet, cigarette or alcohol intake. Thanks to the rise of the ‘metrosexual’, these days the male of the species is altogether more health – and looks – conscious.

Take the recent survey of 3,000 men by Tanita, maker of home health monitors, for example. One of the poll’s surprising findings was that today’s men are as worried about their weight and body shape as women. Fifty percent said they wanted to lose weight, having described themselves as ‘fat’.

Twenty-five percent admitted they felt uncomfortable getting dressed in gym changing rooms because of worries about their less-than chiselled bodies, while a similar number said they felt self-conscious when naked in front of their partner.

And while many women blame skinny models as the cause of their obsession with achieving perfect body status, 72% of men surveyed also claimed the square-jawed

Adonises in glossy magazine adverts made the feel rather insecure about their own physique.

Going under the knife

All of this is familiar territory to Mike Weeks, professional athlete and personal trainer. “Many men nowadays are so aware of their appearances and health that they will do whatever it takes to stay fit and well,” he says.

“Unfortunately, our modern world makes that pretty difficult to achieve with so much stress, pollution and incredibly low levels of nutrients in our foods.”

Indeed, a growing number of men are going to extremes to keep themselves looking young and lean. Figures announced recently by the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) show that an increasing number of men are going
under the knife to achieve the body of their dream – male tummy tucks are up 61% and liposuction for men has increased by 20% over the past 12 months alone.

“I’m not surprised to see that both liposuction and tummy tucks have increased rapidly among men as Britain is becoming a more image-conscious society overall,” says Bryan Mayou, consultant plastic surgeon at the Cadogan Clinic.

According to surgeons at London’s St George’s Hospital, a growing number of men are also having surgery to reduce the size of their breasts – or ‘moobs’ as the tabloid press loves to call them. That’s hardly surprising when you consider the EU stats that show men in the UK are the second fattest in Europe, next to the Maltese, with 22.3% officially classed as obese; this means their health is seriously at risk.

All things considered – especially when it is taken into account that UK women are slightly ahead of men in the obesity stakes – it’s no surprise to learn that the number of prescriptions for weight-loss drugs has recently gone through the roof, having increased by no less than a million during the past 12 months. There are, however, natural alternatives to prescription diet pills. LipoBind (www.lipobind.com) is an entirely natural supplement made from dried cactus extract that helps reduce the amount of fat absorbed from food. In clinical trials, LipoBind was shown to remove up to 27% of undigested fats and up to 150 calories from a standard meal.

Zotrim (www.zotrim.co.uk) is a herbal formulation based on three South American herbs. In trials, Zotrim has been shown to delay
gastric emptying, which means you feel fuller for longer and therefore eat smaller portions and snack less between meals. Aimed more specifically at men is a herb-based weight-loss product from the leading US nutrition brand Mety-Rx (www.metrx.co.uk), called
Xtreme Termo Surge, which claims to aid weight management by speeding up the metabolism to help burn off fat.

“We are committed to developing a holistic sports nutrition range that caters for all requirements,” says US Nutrition sales and marketing director Duncan Kettles.

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