Men regard many weight loss programmes as "feminine" and respond to projects which offer humour and camaraderie, according to a new guide published today.
Men also like gadgets, such as pedometers, according to the Men’s Health Forum.
The guidance is backed by Public Health England.
It says health professionals need to choose "opportune" moments to motivate men to lose weight, such as after a health scare.
It adds that men prefer programmes which offer objectives such as improving fitness rather than simply losing weight.
Forum chief executive Martin Tod said: “Men are not getting the services they need on weight-loss either from the NHS or commercial providers. Even though men are more likely than women to be overweight and obese – and more are likely to die from weight-related disease – men are still only a small minority of those in NHS-funded weight-loss programmes.
“It is crucial that local government and the NHS put the guidance into practice and develop programmes that appeal to and work for men. Otherwise men will continue to dis-proportionately suffer from avoidable disease and unnecessarily early death.”
Professor Kevin Fenton, from Public Health England, said: “Weight-loss programmes have conventionally disproportionately targeted women and now is the time to address the gender imbalance."
* Public spending on physical activity is set to double next year, according to a new analysis.
Councils, which control public health spending, have increased physical activity from 2% to 4% of their budgets.
But the British Heart Foundation said more would be needed to get Britons active.
Chief executive Simon Gillespie said: “This challenge cannot be tackled by public health teams alone. It needs a cross-governmental approach which looks at how we can improve transport, education and town planning to help get people moving more.”
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