Several weight-loss plans cater to the needs of men

Do men really need their own weight-loss programs?

The two leaders in the industry, Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig, think so, and have campaigns to reach the one-third of U.S. men who are obese.

Working under the premise that "men approach weight loss differently," Weight Watchers for Men offers a "customized online system built for men, just men," according to the program's Web site. Jenny Craig has enlisted actor Jason Alexander as a spokesman and promises guys that they can occasionally splurge on beer and fries.

But do men actually lose weight differently than women do? Or are these "for men" programs just marketing gimmicks?

A bit of both. Arizona weight-loss doctor Craig Primack, speaking for the American Society of Bariatric Physicians, says there are a few basic ways men diverge from women in losing weight, but not enough to require separate programs.

Men, Primack says, "tend to underestimate how much weight they have to lose, and they won't start until they have 50 pounds" to shed. Plus, he says, "In society now, it's not frowned upon when a man is mildly overweight."

Men also have an advantage in that they're generally taller and carry more lean muscle mass, which helps in losing weight, Primack says.

Primack notes that men tend to "initially lose faster, 15 or more pounds in three or four months. But then they get a little complacent" and their progress slows.

Weight Watchers launched its for-men program in 2007, says Jason Carpenter, men's editor of WeightWatchers.com.

"The program itself is exactly the same" as the overall Weight Watchers approach, he says, in that it assigns a point value to every food according to its fat, fiber and calorie content. "But the men's Web site now engages men differently."

He notes that "men tend to gravitate toward the fitness part of the program, learning how to be active." And the Web site isn't shy about using sex as an incentive. Better sex, Carpenter says, is presented as "an enjoyable byproduct of losing weight." The site also notes that obesity often leads to erectile dysfunction, a condition that weight loss may correct.

Weight Watchers won't say how many of its members are men. Jenny Craig didn't supply actual numbers, either, but reported that 10 percent of its clients are male.

Jenny Craig's basic approach is the same for men and women: The company customizes a plan for each client. "Men do very well with Jenny Craig, as it allows structure where they handle their consultations over the phone, eat three meals and three snacks per day at designated times, follow pre-planned menus, and food preparation is minimal," Bellach says.