For some men, a barrier to weight loss may appear before they ever change what they eat: the idea of “dieting” itself.
In a small UK study, men with experience trying to lose weight often described diets as restrictive, difficult to maintain and aimed primarily at women. They were more receptive to approaches framed around personal challenges, visible progress and support from a friend, coach or partner. But the study involved just 24 men and did not test whether those strategies actually lead to greater or more lasting weight loss.
The research, published in PLOS One, used four focus groups to explore how men viewed weight loss, what had made previous attempts difficult and what kinds of support they thought might help.
Participants were older than 30, with an average age of 46, and all had experience with overweight and either had tried to lose weight before or were planning to do so. The group had limited diversity and consisted largely of white, educated and married men, making it especially important not to assume the findings represent men more broadly.
Still, several themes appeared repeatedly across the conversations.
One of the strongest was a negative reaction to dieting itself. Participants associated the word with giving up foods they enjoyed, relying heavily on willpower and eventually regaining weight after the diet ended. One participant summed up the perception simply: “diets are often a short-term crash programme.”
Several men described cycles of losing weight, returning to their previous eating habits and gaining the weight back. Researchers said those experiences appeared to reinforce expectations that another diet would eventually fail.
Effort was another recurring concern. Calorie counting, resisting tempting foods and fitting dietary changes around work and other demands were described as obstacles. Some participants said even a relatively small setback could cause them to abandon an effort altogether.
The conversations also revealed strong gendered perceptions around dieting.
Many participants viewed dieting as something more commonly discussed or marketed among women. Images in advertising, magazines and social media had helped create the impression that weight-loss programs were feminine spaces centered on being slim or improving appearance, according to the researchers.
Some men said that association could make them feel uncomfortable or self-conscious about joining traditional weight-loss programs. Exercise, sports and physical challenges generally felt more compatible with how they thought about weight management. The researchers stress, however, that not every participant was interested in sports and that a single male-targeted approach would not fit everyone.
The discussions also uncovered an interesting contradiction.
Participants frequently characterized concern about appearance as something associated with women. Yet when they talked about what had finally prompted them to try to lose weight, appearance was often more important than health.
Men recalled noticing themselves in photographs, seeing changes in the mirror or realizing that their clothes no longer fit. Health concerns sometimes provided motivation, particularly after a health scare, but body image emerged repeatedly as a more immediate trigger.
That does not mean appearance-based messaging is necessarily the best way to motivate men.
The authors caution that simply repackaging dieting around masculine body ideals could create its own problems, including reinforcing unrealistic expectations around leanness or appearance. Instead, they suggest that future programs could explore how goals involving strength, fitness or physical function might connect with individual motivations without promoting harmful body standards.
Social support was another major theme.
Participants frequently liked the idea of having a friend pursuing similar goals, particularly when it provided accountability or a bit of friendly competition. Others preferred a coach or knowledgeable professional who could answer questions and monitor progress.
Partners appeared especially important for many of the married men.
Several described wives who planned meals, bought groceries, prepared food or participated in the same weight-loss effort. In some cases, the partner appeared to be managing much of the practical work involved in changing how the household ate.
That finding should also be viewed in the context of the study population. Most participants were married men in heterosexual relationships, so the study cannot determine whether partner support would operate the same way among single men, men in same-sex relationships or people with different household arrangements. The authors specifically called for research involving more diverse groups.
Beyond support, the men tended to favor simplicity.
They talked positively about manageable goals, seeing measurable progress and changes that did not require constant planning. Researchers also identified gaps in practical nutrition knowledge, including difficulty translating general advice into meals that fit everyday schedules.
Those findings led the authors to suggest that programs designed with men in mind might benefit from straightforward nutrition information, realistic goals, accountability and options for incorporating physical challenges or friendly competition.
But those are ideas generated from the focus groups, not strategies tested by the study.
Researchers did not assign men to different weight-loss programs, measure how much weight they lost or compare whether a competitive program worked better than a traditional diet. The study also did not examine specific diets or evaluate the quality of participants’ overall diets.
For these men, programs associated with restriction and an expectation of eventual failure were difficult to embrace. Approaches that felt achievable, fit into daily life and came with support were viewed more favorably.
Whether designing programs around those preferences actually helps more men lose weight and maintain it will require larger and more diverse studies that put the ideas to the test.
The researchers reported receiving no specific funding for this study.