The diet industry has always catered to women, and for years dieting as a preferred means of weight loss was seen as almost exclusively female. Diet products and services now, however, are growing savvy to a broad male market. The problem has never been that there isn’t a need: Weight loss is at least as much an issue for men as it is for women. The crux was always men’s attitudes toward dieting. What marketers are discovering is that, with the right positioning of their products, men are more willing to engage in a diet regimen.

Until recently, the male dieter was a relatively unknown entity. It wasn’t just that diet books and low-calorie packaged foods focused solely on women—the notion that dieting is for women was so deeply engrained in the cultural mind-set that even scientific studies on weight loss left men out.

The issue isn’t a dearth of overweight men, but men’s attitudes and approaches toward weight loss. In fact, 71% of adult men are overweight, versus 62% of adult women, as defined by a body mass index of more than 25. What’s more, men are becoming increasingly concerned with their physical appearance. “I don’t think there’s ever been a time when men have been more preoccupied with their bodies than today,” says Michael Kimmel, a sociologist and author of several books on men and masculinity. Findings by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery support Kimmel’s assessment: In 2007, cosmetic procedures on men increased by 17% from 2006, and liposuction ranked among the top three surgical procedures for men.

Men simply don’t feel comfortable admitting that they’re dieting. They tend to emphasize exercise, and talk about “getting in shape”
versus “counting calories” or “losing weight.” Beverage companies have apparently caught on to men’s aversion to the word diet, hence the male-targeted Coke Zero, Sprite Zero, and Pepsi One. Coke Zero, in fact, is the most successful product launch for Coca-Cola since the introduction of Diet Coke more than 25 years ago.

Nutrition companies have enjoyed recent success by including male-oriented programs among their offerings. In 2007, Weight Watchers launched Weight Watchers Online for Men, with male-only discussion boards, articles like “What to Eat at the Ballpark,” and workout videos designed for men.

NutriSystem has made even greater strides with men. Since hiring NFL spokesmen like Dan Marino, Mike Golic, and Don Shula, and adding men’s chat rooms to its Web site, the male percentage of their customer base has grown from 13% in 2006 to 30% today. The impact on NutriSystem’s bottom line has been extraordinary, as revenue has grown 37%, to $777 million.

According to Neilsen Online, traffic at Nutrisystem.com nearly doubled last January over the previous year—up from 1.4 million to to 2.7 million unique visitors in 2008. According to Kimmel, “If Madison Avenue can get men to be as dissatisfied with their bodies as women are, they’ll be dancing in the streets—it’s been their fantasy for decades.”

Source: Adweek, 2008