Men's Health UK
Encyclopedia
Men's Health is the British edition of the American magazine Men's Health
. The British magazine was launched in February 1995 with a separate editorial team and is now the best-selling monthly men's magazine in the United Kingdom
, more than GQ
and Esquire
put together. The magazine focuses on topics such as fitness
, sex
, relationship
s, health
, weight loss
, nutrition
, fashion
, technology
and style. The currently editor-in-chief is Morgan Rees; Toby Wiseman is the featured editor.
The UK version has maintained the image of the original U.S. version, in particular by promoting the body care, nutrition and all matters relating to the male universe. The concept of aesthetically perfect man is an extreme with the presence on cover of bare-chested muscular male models. Because of these reasons, the magazine was often criticized for promoting an unattainable model of man. To further strengthen the idea of achievability, the staff of the magazine often try out the health and fitness programs themselves and write about their experiences alongside pictorial evidence. In March 2006, one of the UK writers, Dan Rookwood, appeared on the cover of Men's Health having transformed his body shape while working at the magazine. The staff of German Men's Health have also appeared on their cover, and UK fitness editor Ray Klerck has appeared on the cover as well as within the pages of the magazine as a model.
, Jack Guy, Jim Buol, Gregg Avedon
, Russell Brown, Owen McKibbin, Rick Dietz, Bradly Tomberlin, Rick Arango and many others. In 2002, the UK edition started what became a yearly competition in order to find a Men's Health reader with a body seen fit to front the magazine in the hopes that the image of a British "normal guy" will spur other Men's Health readers to obtain the 'look' and also remind them that this kind of physique is obtainable.
The first winner of the UK Cover Model search was 22 year old Graeme Peacock, who secured a sponsorship contract with supplement manufacturer Maximuscle. There was no contest in 2003, but in 2004 the contest went annual, with the second winner being Neil Laverty, now represented by Compton Model Agency. Winners of the UK Cover Model competitions for 2005 were Ollie Foster (United Kingdom) and Manuel Mera (Spain). In 2006, 21 year old Mike Fawkes won the 2006 UK Cover Model competition. In 2007 win Chris Whitlow, in 2008 the Cover Model competition winner was Kevin Goodwin, in 2009 win the 29 year old James Bayntun, in 2010 win Kirk Miller. In recent years have appeared on the cover also celebrities such as Jason Statham
, Rusty Joiner
, Ryan Reynolds
, Josh Holloway
, Marco Dapper
, Gerard Butler
, Vin Diesel
, Joe Manganiello
and Cristiano Ronaldo
.
UCI
Division 3 professional cycle racing team, the team's Director Sportif was Sid Barras
, himself a former professional cyclist. Although the team achieved numerous successes during the year, sponsorship was not renewed in 2000. Team members included welshmen
Matt Beckett
and Huw Pritchard
, a medal winning Commonwealth Games
competitor.
in the year 2000 was analysed in Stibbe (2004). The findings of this research suggested that Men's Health magazine at the time gave some useful health advice but included images of masculinity
which were counter-productive for health promotion. In particular, the form of hegemonic masculinity promoted by the magazine had the potential to promote negative health behaviours such as excess alcohol consumption, excess meat consumption, reliance on convenience food, unsafe sex, and aggressive behavior. The scope of this study did not include how the content of the magazine has changed over time, or how the content of the UK version differs from the U.S. version.
The UK version received strong criticism from Psychologist Dr David Giles from the University of Winchester
because of its promotion of a muscular physique as a sign of health.
This magazine, among others has also been linked as a leading cause of a type of Body Dysmorphic Disorder called "athletica nervosa".
Men's Health (magazine)
Men's Health , published by Rodale Inc. in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, United States, is the world’s largest men’s magazine brand, with 44 editions around the world. It is also the best-selling men's magazine on U.S. newsstands. It covers fitness, nutrition, sexuality, lifestyle and other aspects of...
. The British magazine was launched in February 1995 with a separate editorial team and is now the best-selling monthly men's magazine in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, more than GQ
GQ (magazine)
GQ is a monthly men's magazine focusing on fashion, style, and culture for men, through articles on food, movies, fitness, sex, music, travel, sports, technology, and books...
and Esquire
Esquire (magazine)
Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...
put together. The magazine focuses on topics such as fitness
Physical fitness
Physical fitness comprises two related concepts: general fitness , and specific fitness...
, sex
Sex
In biology, sex is a process of combining and mixing genetic traits, often resulting in the specialization of organisms into a male or female variety . Sexual reproduction involves combining specialized cells to form offspring that inherit traits from both parents...
, relationship
Intimate relationship
An intimate relationship is a particularly close interpersonal relationship that involves physical or emotional intimacy. Physical intimacy is characterized by romantic or passionate love and attachment, or sexual activity. The term is also sometimes used euphemistically for a sexual...
s, health
Health
Health is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind, body and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain...
, weight loss
Weight loss
Weight loss, in the context of medicine, health or physical fitness, is a reduction of the total body mass, due to a mean loss of fluid, body fat or adipose tissue and/or lean mass, namely bone mineral deposits, muscle, tendon and other connective tissue...
, nutrition
Nutrition
Nutrition is the provision, to cells and organisms, of the materials necessary to support life. Many common health problems can be prevented or alleviated with a healthy diet....
, fashion
Fashion
Fashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...
, technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
and style. The currently editor-in-chief is Morgan Rees; Toby Wiseman is the featured editor.
The UK version has maintained the image of the original U.S. version, in particular by promoting the body care, nutrition and all matters relating to the male universe. The concept of aesthetically perfect man is an extreme with the presence on cover of bare-chested muscular male models. Because of these reasons, the magazine was often criticized for promoting an unattainable model of man. To further strengthen the idea of achievability, the staff of the magazine often try out the health and fitness programs themselves and write about their experiences alongside pictorial evidence. In March 2006, one of the UK writers, Dan Rookwood, appeared on the cover of Men's Health having transformed his body shape while working at the magazine. The staff of German Men's Health have also appeared on their cover, and UK fitness editor Ray Klerck has appeared on the cover as well as within the pages of the magazine as a model.
Cover models
Since the first issue, on the cover of the magazine are always appeared bare-chested muscular American male models and personal trainers like Tom Cortesi, Scott KingScott King (model)
Scott King is a former American male model. He was one of the first men to have achieved supermodel status....
, Jack Guy, Jim Buol, Gregg Avedon
Gregg Avedon
Gregory Michael Avedon is a former model who achieved success in the 1990s. He worked for Giorgio Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, Krizia, Trussardi and Valentino Garavani, and appeared in several magazines and catalogs including Men's Health, Esquire, GQ, Vanity Fair, International Male, and L'Uomo...
, Russell Brown, Owen McKibbin, Rick Dietz, Bradly Tomberlin, Rick Arango and many others. In 2002, the UK edition started what became a yearly competition in order to find a Men's Health reader with a body seen fit to front the magazine in the hopes that the image of a British "normal guy" will spur other Men's Health readers to obtain the 'look' and also remind them that this kind of physique is obtainable.
The first winner of the UK Cover Model search was 22 year old Graeme Peacock, who secured a sponsorship contract with supplement manufacturer Maximuscle. There was no contest in 2003, but in 2004 the contest went annual, with the second winner being Neil Laverty, now represented by Compton Model Agency. Winners of the UK Cover Model competitions for 2005 were Ollie Foster (United Kingdom) and Manuel Mera (Spain). In 2006, 21 year old Mike Fawkes won the 2006 UK Cover Model competition. In 2007 win Chris Whitlow, in 2008 the Cover Model competition winner was Kevin Goodwin, in 2009 win the 29 year old James Bayntun, in 2010 win Kirk Miller. In recent years have appeared on the cover also celebrities such as Jason Statham
Jason Statham
Jason Statham born 12 September1967) is an English actor and former diver, known for his roles in the Guy Ritchie crime films Revolver, Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels...
, Rusty Joiner
Rusty Joiner
Jason Russell "Rusty" Joiner is an American male fashion model, fitness model and actor.Born in Montgomery, Alabama, and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Joiner attended Georgia Southern University, where he was a successful athlete, cheerleader, and gymnast for four years...
, Ryan Reynolds
Ryan Reynolds
Ryan Rodney Reynolds is a Canadian film and television actor, best known for his roles in such films as National Lampoon's Van Wilder, Waiting..., The Amityville Horror, Just Friends, Definitely, Maybe, The Proposal, Buried, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and Green Lantern.One of his best known...
, Josh Holloway
Josh Holloway
Joshua Lee "Josh" Holloway is an American actor and model from Free Home, Georgia. He is best known for his role as James "Sawyer" Ford on the American television show Lost.-Early life:...
, Marco Dapper
Marco Dapper
Marco Dapper is an American model and actor, best known for his role in the 2006 film Eating Out 2: Sloppy Seconds.-Biography:...
, Gerard Butler
Gerard Butler
Gerard James Butler is a Scottish actor who has appeared on film, stage, and television. A trained lawyer, Butler turned to acting in the mid-1990s with small roles in productions such as the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies , which he followed with steady work on television, most notably in...
, Vin Diesel
Vin Diesel
Vin Diesel is an American actor, writer, director and producer. He became known in the early 2000s, appearing in several successful Hollywood films, including The Fast and the Furious and xXx...
, Joe Manganiello
Joe Manganiello
Joseph Michael "Joe" Manganiello is a classically-trained American film and theatre actor. He holds a BFA in acting from the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama...
and Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH, , commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger or striker for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and is the captain of the Portuguese national team...
.
Cycling team
In 1999, Men's Health sponsored a BritishUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
UCI
Union Cycliste Internationale
Union Cycliste Internationale is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland....
Division 3 professional cycle racing team, the team's Director Sportif was Sid Barras
Sid Barras
Sid Barras is an English former professional road racing cyclist from Middlesbrough, Cleveland. He was a professional for 18 years. One of Britain's foremost racing cyclists in the 1970s and 1980s with 380 wins, in 18 years as a professional...
, himself a former professional cyclist. Although the team achieved numerous successes during the year, sponsorship was not renewed in 2000. Team members included welshmen
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
Matt Beckett
Matt Beckett
Matt Beckett is a Welsh former-professional cyclist who was born in Lancaster. He represented Wales in the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur. He was briefly one of the directors of Welsh Cycling in 2006.-Palmarés:1998...
and Huw Pritchard
Huw Pritchard
Huw Pritchard , is a Welsh racing cyclist. He represented Wales at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, and again in Manchester in the 2002 Commonwealth Games, where he won the silver medal in the 20 km scratch, the first Welshman to win a medal on the track at the...
, a medal winning Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 and takes place every four years....
competitor.
Criticism
The content of the U.S. version of Men's HealthMen's Health (magazine)
Men's Health , published by Rodale Inc. in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, United States, is the world’s largest men’s magazine brand, with 44 editions around the world. It is also the best-selling men's magazine on U.S. newsstands. It covers fitness, nutrition, sexuality, lifestyle and other aspects of...
in the year 2000 was analysed in Stibbe (2004). The findings of this research suggested that Men's Health magazine at the time gave some useful health advice but included images of masculinity
Masculinity
Masculinity is possessing qualities or characteristics considered typical of or appropriate to a man. The term can be used to describe any human, animal or object that has the quality of being masculine...
which were counter-productive for health promotion. In particular, the form of hegemonic masculinity promoted by the magazine had the potential to promote negative health behaviours such as excess alcohol consumption, excess meat consumption, reliance on convenience food, unsafe sex, and aggressive behavior. The scope of this study did not include how the content of the magazine has changed over time, or how the content of the UK version differs from the U.S. version.
The UK version received strong criticism from Psychologist Dr David Giles from the University of Winchester
University of Winchester
The University of Winchester is a British public university primarily based in Winchester, Hampshire, England. Winchester is a historic cathedral city and the ancient capital of Wessex and the Kingdom of England.-History:...
because of its promotion of a muscular physique as a sign of health.
"The message in typical lads' magazines is that you need to develop a muscular physique in order to attract a quality mate.
"Readers internalise this message, which creates anxieties about their actual bodies and leads to increasingly desperate attempts to modify them."
This magazine, among others has also been linked as a leading cause of a type of Body Dysmorphic Disorder called "athletica nervosa".