Men’s health centre

Beer belly 'is men's biggest body issue'

6th January 2012 - A new study reveals that the majority of British men regularly talk about their body image - a trait historically regarded as a woman's health issue.

The survey found that men's dissatisfaction with their bodies had reached a level where more than a third  would trade at least a year of their life if they could achieve their ideal body shape and weight.

Muscles and beer bellies

Men worry that their arms and chests are not as muscular as they would like and are concerned about their beer bellies, the results suggests.

More than half of men said that 'body talk', such as comments like "wow, you look great" or "nobody wants to date a bald guy" contributed to feelings about their own physical appearance. For some, when these remarks were negative, it led them to adopt unhealthy regimes like over-exercising, taking performance-related substances and developing eating disorders.

The study was carried out at the Centre for Appearance Research at the University of the West of England, Bristol. Researchers examined answers from 394 British adults who had completed an online questionnaire.

Body talk

The results reveal that more than 95% of participants were aware of body talk from the media. The authors say that in western culture this tends to reinforce the standard for a tall, lean, muscular, toned body with clear skin and a full head of hair.

The impact of the media was influenced by sexual orientation, with 10.4% of straight men and 25.5% of gay men saying that media messages about body shape and weight were very or extremely important to them.

Sam Barton, a student at Staffordshire College, admits to always harbouring concerns about his physical appearance. "You look in newspapers and magazines and see all the glamorous celebrities looking good, and it makes you want to ape their lifestyles," he tells us. "Looking like them, you're going to feel like them," he adds.

Moobs

However, it is not only media images that exert pressure on men. Friends and family have an important influence too. The most popular terms men use to describe another man’s appearance include commenting on his beer belly (74.5%); six pack (69.8%); or man boobs (moobs) (63%).  Nearly half of men also used the terms chubby (46.1%) and ripped (42.4%) to describe another man’s appearance.

The same terms cropped up prominently when men were asked to list how other men had referred to them.

For Sam Barton, an overwhelming desire in his mid-teens to alter his appearance led to a string of cosmetic procedure - although he had to wait until he turned 18. "The first thing I wanted was botox, to get rid of creases on the forehead and round the eyes; and then it was fillers around the nose and the mouth. And then a tanning injection, which made me feel really ill," he says.