Men's Health (magazine)
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Men's Health (MH), published by Rodale Press in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, United States, is the largest circulation men's lifestyle magazine in the world. It covers fitness, nutrition, sexuality, lifestyle and other aspects of men's life and health.
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[edit] History
MH began in the United States in 1987 as an annual, before becoming a quarterly and then bi-monthly magazine, and is now published ten times a year. Its UK edition (with a separate editorial team) was launched in 1995, and it now publishes 36 editions worldwide, distributed to 48 countries. In the U.S., its 1.8m circulation (as of 2005) exceeds that of GQ and Esquire combined.
The content of the US version of Men's Health 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 counterproductive 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 US version.
[edit] Cover model
The front covers are usually depicted with images of professional male fitness models and 'on brand' celebrities. However a yearly competition is conducted in order to find a Men's Health reader with the body seen fit to front the magazine cover. It is hoped that the image of a 'normal guy' will spur other Men's Health readers to obtain the 'look' and also remind them that this kind of physique is obtainable to the average human male.
Winners of the UK Cover Model competitions for 2005 are Ollie Foster (United Kingdom) and Manuel Mera (Spain). In 2006, 21 year old Mike Fawkes won the 2006 UK Cover Model competition[citation needed].
To further 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 pictoral 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[citation needed].
