HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The British edition of the American magazine ''
Men's Health ''Men's Health'' (''MH''), published by Hearst Communications, Hearst, is the world's largest men's magazine brand, with 35 editions in 59 countries; it is the bestselling men's magazine on American newsstands. Started as a men's health magazin ...
'' was launched in February 1995 with a separate editorial team, and is the best-selling monthly men's magazine in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, selling more than '' GQ'' and ''
Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...
'' put together. The magazine focuses on topics such as fitness,
sex Sex is the biological trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing organism produces male or female gametes. During sexual reproduction, a male and a female gamete fuse to form a zygote, which develops into an offspring that inheri ...
, relationships,
health Health has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, p ...
,
weight loss Weight loss, in the context of medicine, health, or physical fitness, refers to a reduction of the total body mass, by a mean loss of fluid, body fat (adipose tissue), or lean mass (namely bone mineral deposits, muscle, tendon, and other conn ...
,
nutrition Nutrition is the biochemistry, biochemical and physiology, physiological process by which an organism uses food and water to support its life. The intake of these substances provides organisms with nutrients (divided into Macronutrient, macro- ...
,
fashion Fashion is a term used interchangeably to describe the creation of clothing, footwear, Fashion accessory, accessories, cosmetics, and jewellery of different cultural aesthetics and their mix and match into Clothing, outfits that depict distinct ...
,
technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...
and style. The currently editor-in-chief is Claire Sanderson. The UK version has maintained the image of the original US 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 the cover of bare-chested muscular male models. Because of this, the magazine has often been criticized for promoting an unattainable model of man. To strengthen the idea of achievability, the staff of the magazine often try out the health and fitness programmes themselves and write about their experiences alongside pictorial evidence. In March 2006, one of the UK writers, Dan Rookwood, appeared on the cover 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 and within the pages of the magazine as a model.


Cover models

The cover always has bare-chested muscular American male models and personal trainers like Tom Cortesi, Scott King, Jack Guy, Jim Buol, Gregg Avedon, Russell Brown, Owen McKibbin, Rick Dietz, Timothy Adams, Bradly Tomberlin and Rick Arango. In 2002, the UK edition started what became a yearly competition to find a reader with a body fit to front the magazine in the hopes that the image of a British "normal guy" would spur other readers to obtain the 'look' and 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, and in 2004 the contest went annual, with the second winner being Neil Laverty, now represented by Compton Model Agency. Winners for 2005 were Ollie Foster (United Kingdom) and
Manuel Mera Manuel may refer to: People * Manuel (name), a given name and surname * Manuel (Fawlty Towers), Manuel (''Fawlty Towers''), a fictional character from the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers'' * Manuel I Komnenos, emperor of the Byzantine Empire * Manuel I ...
(Spain). In 2006, 21-year-old Mike Fawkes won the competition, in 2007 Chris Whitlow, in 2008 Kevin Goodwin, in 2009 29-year-old James Bayntun, in 2010 Kirk Miller. Celebrities such as
Jason Statham Jason Statham ( ; born 26 July 1967) is an English actor. He is known for portraying tough, gritty, or violent characters in various action thriller films, and has been credited for leading the resurgence of action films during the 2000s and 2 ...
,
Rusty Joiner Jason Russell "Rusty" Joiner (born December 11, 1972) is an American male fashion model, Fitness model (person), fitness model and actor. Early life and education Born in Montgomery, Alabama, and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Joiner attended Ge ...
,
Ryan Reynolds Ryan Rodney Reynolds (born October 23, 1976) is a Canadian and American actor, producer and businessman. Known for starring in comedic and superhero films, he was the List of highest-paid film actors, world's second-highest-paid actor in 202 ...
,
Josh Holloway Joshua Lee Holloway (born July 20, 1969) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as James "Sawyer" Ford on the ABC television show '' Lost'' (2004–2010) as Will Bowman on the USA Network science fiction drama ''Colony'' (2016� ...
, Marco Dapper,
Gerard Butler Gerard James Butler (born 13 November 1969) is a Scottish actor and film producer. After studying law, he turned to acting in the mid-1990s with small roles in productions such as '' Mrs Brown'' (1997), the James Bond film ''Tomorrow Never ...
,
Vin Diesel Mark Sinclair (born July 18, 1967), known professionally as Vin Diesel, is an American actor and film producer. One of the world's highest-grossing actors, he is best known for portraying Dominic "Dom" Toretto in the '' Fast & Furious'' fra ...
,
Joe Manganiello Joseph Michael Manganiello ( ; , ; born December 28, 1976) is an American actor. His professional film career began when he played Flash Thompson in Sam Raimi's ''Spider-Man''. His breakout role was as werewolf Alcide Herveaux in five seasons ...
and
Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Saudi Pr ...
have appeared on the cover].


Cycling team

In 1999, ''Men's Health'' sponsored a United Kingdom, British UCI Division 3 professional cycle racing team. The Director Sportif was
Sid Barras Sid Barras (born 3 April 1948) is an English former professional road racing cyclist from Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire. He was a professional for 18 years. One of Britain's foremost racing cyclists in the 1970s and 1980s with 380 wins, in 18 ...
, 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 Matt Beckett (born 13 July 1973) is a Welsh former-professional cyclist who was born in Lancaster, Lancashire, Lancaster. He represented Wales in the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur. He was briefly one of the directors of Welsh Cycling ...
and Huw Pritchard, a medal-winning
Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...
competitor.


Criticism

The content of the U.S. version in the year 2000 was analysed in Stibbe (2004). The findings suggested that ''Men's Health'' gave some useful health advice but included images of
masculinity Masculinity (also called manhood or manliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with men and boys. Masculinity can be theoretically understood as Social construction of gender, socially constructed, and there i ...
that 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 Convenience food (also called tertiary processed food) is food that is commercially prepared (often through processing) for ease of consumption, and is usually ready to eat without further preparation. It may also be easily portable, have ...
, 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 The University of Winchester is a public research university based in the city of Winchester, Hampshire, England. The university has origins tracing back to 1840 as a teacher training college, but was established in 2005. Winchester University ...
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."Magazines 'harm male body image'
This magazine, among others has also been linked as a leading cause of the
body dysmorphic disorder Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), also known in some contexts as dysmorphophobia, is a mental disorder defined by an overwhelming preoccupation with a perceived flaw in one's physical appearance. In BDD's delusional variant, the flaw is imagined ...
called "''
athletica nervosa Anorexia athletica (sports anorexia), also referred to as hyper-gymnasia, is an eating disorder characterized by excessive and compulsive exercise. An athlete with sports anorexia tends to overexercise, to give themselves a sense of having control ...
''".


See also

*
Masculinity Masculinity (also called manhood or manliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with men and boys. Masculinity can be theoretically understood as Social construction of gender, socially constructed, and there i ...
*
List of men's magazines This is a list of men's magazines from around the world. These are Magazine, magazines (periodical print publications) that have been published primarily for a readership of Man, men. The list has been split into subcategories according to the t ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Men's Health UK 1995 establishments in the United Kingdom Fashion magazines published in the United Kingdom Lifestyle magazines published in the United Kingdom Men's magazines published in the United Kingdom Monthly magazines published in the United Kingdom Fitness magazines Health magazines Magazines published in London Magazines established in 1995 Men's Health (magazine) Rodale, Inc.