"Lose waist...gain life," claims new programme for men

Kay Brennan final year medical student, University of Leeds

The first weight loss programme designed specifically for overweight men is being launched in Britain.

Fatmanslim is a new "at home" programme that coaches men about the fundamentals of weight loss and claims: "Lose waist...gain life." It is designed with male behaviour in mind and has the initial goal of trimming 10 cm off the average beer gut in 12 weeks.

Getting in the way of things: Fatmanslim's promotional material is designed to appeal to men's better instincts

The inventor is Dr Ian Campbell, a GP who runs the overweight clinic at University Hospital, Nottingham, and chairs the National Obesity Forum. He believes that men will not lose weight using the quick fix diets and gruelling workouts aimed at women. His formula relies on gently persuading male couch potatoes to gradually reduce the amount that they eat and drink.

Obesity levels among men are almost as high as among women--17% compared with 21% in England--but Dr Campbell believes that there is a lack of provision in the NHS to help men who are overweight, and less than 1% of those who seek help from slimming clubs are men.

Fatmanslim focuses on waist reduction as well as weight loss, claiming, "Big bellies carry an increased risk to health."

The weight loss programme, which can be accessed through the internet and by mail order, costs £84. It includes a complete 12 week written programme in a binder, audio tapes guiding you through the programme, and a mechanical measuring tape to monitor your waist reduction progress. There is also membership to "Club fms," an interactive members, section of the website that provides additional support each week.

Key messages include eating more vegetables, reducing saturated fat, and cutting snacks between meals. Dr Campbell, however, claims that its approach is non-proscriptive, believing that men like to be in control and do not want to be told what to do. Participants are free to progress at their own pace and to decide on what changes they are going to make.

Dr Campbell hopes that after the first 12 weeks the changes made in diet and lifestyle will help participants "continue to lose waist."



studentBMJ 2002;10:1-44 February ISSN 0966-6494