Weighty matters for men showing on hips and bums

WEIGHT is going pear-shaped for men because of a big increase in the size of their hips and bums, according to research.

Men’s hips have grown by two inches in the past 30 years and if the trend continues, the average size of the male girth could be 42 inches.

Weight problems have moved from beer bellies to affect bums, hips and thighs.

One in 10 men surveyed by British-based bread company Nimble said they never got undressed in front of their partner because they were self-conscious about the size of their bum.

Body expert Tony Rosella, who surveyed 500 men and 500 women and studied images of 26 male volunteers’ bodies, said the research showed that men’s bodies were getting bigger in all areas.

“Of the men we scanned, in addition to the increase in hip size, over the past 30 years their average waist size had increased by 3.4 inches and their chests by three inches,” he said.

Comparisons were made with the size of the volunteers’ fathers 30 years ago.

The study showed that one in six men watched at least seven hours of sport a week on television, with one in three doing no exercise at all.

Fewer than one in 10 of the men questioned ate three meals a day, compared with a third of men 30 years ago. Almost one in two men said at least half their food was pre-prepared or takeaways.

Sarah Eden, spokeswoman for Nimble, said: “It seems that one of the main reasons why men are gaining weight is because they don’t understand the link between weight control and a healthy, nutritious diet.”

However a spokeswoman for eating-disorder support group Bodywhys, said weight control was also linked to emotions.

Barbara Doyle said men were nowadays more prone to eating disorders because of the stresses and pressures of modern life.

“Most eating disorders have an emotional base and the role of men in society has changed to the extent that they are under huge pressure but may not have the emotional skills to cope. It can lead to comfort eating and loss of weight control.”

Ms Doyle said an estimated one in 10 Irish men had eating disorders, but were less likely to be aware of this because of the traditional association of such disorders with women.