The current obesity epidemic is really an epidemic among men, said John La Puma, MD, at Holistic Primary Care's fifth annual Heal Thy Practice conference in Long Beach earlier this month.

Women tend to be the focus of much of the public and clinical attention on weight problems—presumably because women are more likely to seek care, and social norms pressure women to be thin. But overweight is actually more common among men, said Dr. La Puma, author of the forthcoming book, Men Don't Diet, Men...Refuel.

"There's a lot more illness among men, and a lot less healthcare," he said. Incidence of obesity in women has been steady over the last decade while in men it has increased. From 2000 to 2008, median BMI for women was at roughly 27 (Flegal KM, et al. JAMA 2010; 303: 235-241). In men, it rose from roughly 26 to 30. Currently, 72% of American men are overweight or obese versus 64% of women ...Read more »