Seinfeld's Jason Alexander the latest to pitch weight-loss programs to men
George Costanza is no Dan Marino, and that may signal an important shift in dieting culture.
When the weight-loss company NutriSystem launched its men's program in 2006, it tapped Marino, a Hall of Fame NFL quarterback, as its spokesman. It was a move clearly calculated to make guys think that if dieting is manly enough for an athlete of Marino's stature, then it must be manly enough for them.
Ever since, the weight-loss industry has encouraged a culture of dieting for dudely reasons, whether by recruiting superstar athletes to promote various programs or, in the case of the television show "The Biggest Loser," presenting weight loss as a grueling competition.
Which is why the recent announcement that Jason Alexander, who played George Costanza on "Seinfeld," has joined Jenny Craig as the company's newest spokesman represents a sea change in how weight-loss companies are now reaching out to men.
The new face of male weight loss is just another pudgy guy who, like so many of us, has been losing the battle of the bulge over the years and wants to drop a few pounds simply to look better.
It's a change that is helping dieting shed its image as an exclusively female concern.
"The idea of losing weight, for men, has been really not front and center. It's always been a women's thing," says Harvey Brooker, founder of Harvey Brooker Weight Loss for Men in Toronto.
Since joining Weight Watchers this month, Benny Osher has been somewhat tightlipped about his participation in the program.
"I haven't really spread the word out too much because I'm a little embarrassed to say I'm on Weight Watchers," says the 46-year-old Toronto accountant.
Each week, Osher attends a Weight Watchers meeting with fellow dieters. For every 10 people at the meetings, only about two are men, he says. "I enjoy the positive aspect of the meeting. I like hearing other people's stories," he says. While he has tried to lose weight in the past, this is the first time Osher has joined a formal dieting program. His hope is to drop to 169 from 182 pounds. The structure of the program has allowed him to get a grip on his weight loss.
"It feels good knowing you're taking control," he says.
Men who diet usually do so for health reasons, says Ray Burton, a personal trainer in Calgary, Alberta. "You never hear, 'My wife doesn't find me attractive anymore.' But you do hear, 'My doctor just told me that I've hit the wall,' or, 'I want to be around to play with my kids.'"
In other words, for men, dieting has always had to have a higher purpose than mere vanity. Hence all of Marino's marketing-speak about how NutriSystem can help guys "get back in the game."
In shilling for Jenny Craig, however, Alexander has made it known that he was drawn to the company's weight-loss program simply to look better. It's much the same spiel women have been hearing from weight-loss spokeswomen (who still far outnumber the men).
"I just got to a point where, when I would look at the 'Seinfeld' reunion stuff or one of these other projects that I had done, I said, 'I don't like the way that guy looks. That guy is not attractive in any way, shape or form to me,'" Alexander told People magazine recently. It might as well be Valerie Bertinelli speaking, minus the "Seinfeld" reference.
It's certainly a different line than the one offered by Jenny Craig's previous male "face," Baron Davis. When the NBA point guard joined Jenny Craig in 2008, he boasted in a press release that being on the weight-loss regimen made him feel "more than ready to tackle the upcoming season."