Unless you’ve been trapped on another planet for the past few years, you probably know that obesity is a big, big problem in this country. And you also (hopefully) know that obesity increases one’s risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers. But what you may not know is that obesity is an especially big problem for men.
Between 1990 and 2011, overall obesity rates rose from 7% to 25%. Men 51-64 posted the biggest increase—from 10% to 42%, according to Dr. Noel Richardson, director of the Centre for Men’s Health at the Institute of Technology Carlow. Dr. Richardson, quoted in an article on Irishhealth.com, feels this is very troubling news. Men’s diets, he says, are less healthy than women’s; men eat fewer fruits and vegetables and more fried foods; men are less informed than women about foods that provide health benefits; men are also less likely to see extra weight as a problem because they have a tendency to equate being big with being strong or masculine.
And it goes on and on. Men have a tendency to pooh-pooh healthy food because it seems like too much trouble or they worry that it won’t taste good. They’re also less likely than women to read food labels and shift responsibility for diet and nutrition to the women in their lives. Oh, and men too often don’t see dieting as a way to lose weight—relying instead on exercise (no question—exercise is great, but the most effective weight loss programs include exercise and diet.
