A privately funded campaign is has narrowed in on a tool for helping men to gauge their obesity. When standing upright, can they see their penis?
After funding their own survey of 1,000 British men, the health advocacy group found that “33 percent of men in Britain aged between 35 and 60 years are unable to see their penis” because of their bellies. They presumably controlled for poor vision.
Dubbed “The Big Check,” the campaign is based on the simple idea that men may be flippant about the health risks of belly fat, but anything concerning their junk is likely to get their attention.
According to the group’s staff expert, “Men care more about maintaining their cars than their own bodies, and often only see the doctor if told to by a female partner or relative.” Dr. Sarah includes helpful tips on how woman can shoulder the responsibility for their guy’s health, which, aside from one “sexy” suggestion (“encourage him to check his testicles regularly for lumps — or check them yourself as part of foreplay”) are mostly just variations on nagging.
Dr. Sarah’s apparent lack of faith in men being able to do anything for their own health comes off far from progressive. But as long as we’re throwing the kitchen sink at the obesity epidemic, I can think of worse ways of going about it.
By Lindsay Abrams, www.theatlantic.com
