ABSTRACT
The problem of obesity is multi-dimensional and there are gender issues to be considered in the battle against weight gain. Few gender-specific campaigns are being run in obesity. However, with the interest in social marketing developing in the health and nutrition fields a number of case studies highlight how key concepts could be adapted to new campaigns on male obesity. Health professionals need to consider the implications of their work with men as individuals but also to exploit media opportunities to get appropriate health messages across to men. Before the 1980s most television advertising was mass marketed to a broadly diverse audience through a relatively small number of media outlets. Dieting advice is given out regularly in magazines, newspapers, TV, radio and via the internet. There are complex issues about the portrayal of obesity in the media which apply across genders.
