Being a father is the biggest motivation for overweight men to lose weight

A new survey shows that being a father is the biggest motivation for overweight men to lose weight.

According to the British "Daily Mail" report, research by the "Fat People" website found that men are more likely to decide to lose weight because of a new baby at home than getting doctor's advice and trying to attract the opposite sex.

The slimming club asked 1000 dads why little babies are a huge motivation for them to lose weight. About 38% of men claim that they want to lose weight because they have an obligation to avoid heart disease for their children.

More than one-third of fathers want to strengthen themselves so that they can play with their children, while 31% of respondents said they want to set a good example when losing weight. 11% of dads don't want to be outperformed by other dads at the school gate.

A TV show host who lost 20 pounds in 17 weeks through the Fat People Club is now calling on dads to do something about their weight and stop making excuses for themselves.

He said: "After losing weight, I am now full of energy and the quality of parent-child time has greatly increased. When I go shopping, I can keep up with my daughter. This year I'm going to play a rugby benefit game with my son, and I plan to spend the full 80 minutes on the court, which I couldn't even imagine at this time last year. Losing weight has really had a very positive impact on our family's parent-child life. I am much happier than before."

The report pointed out that compared with 2010, the number of men subscribing to the "Fat People" online magazine has more than doubled. Someone else on the Fat People website said: "Traditionally, losing weight may be generally believed to be a woman's business, but in fact more men than women have overweight problems."

The latest data from the UK Department of Health shows that the proportion of British men with a healthy weight fell from 41% in 1993 to 30.9% in 2010. On Father's Day this year, 78% of dads will choose sedentary pastimes, such as eating out, going to the movies or even watching TV at home, rather than engaging in health-friendly outdoor activities such as playing football in the park or riding bicycles with the whole family 22%.