Everything you need to know about MAN v FAT, the unique way for men to lose weight

The most recent Health Survey for England found that 68.2% of men aged 16 or over were overweight or obese, compared to 60.4% of women.

There is no medical reason why more men should be overweight than women – men actually have a faster metabolism – but whether it’s down to lifestyle, laziness, less pressure to look good, or a combination of all three, there are millions of men in the country who would like to lose some weight.

So many, in fact, that the phrase ‘lose weight men UK’ has been Googled 170million times.

The NHS, mercifully, ranks number one for that particular search term, but deep down everyone knows the advice before they’ve even read it: eat healthier and exercise more.

Both can be a challenge, but exercising requires not just motivation but also the confidence to get into a gym or out onto the streets for a run. It’s where many fitness drives fall short, but MAN v FAT Football is the unique weight loss programme that overcomes the biggest and most annoying obstacle to losing weight. It makes exercising fun.

What is MAN v FAT Football?

At its heart, MAN v FAT Football is a simple idea: playing football is a fun way to lose weight for men who might otherwise not exercise. But it provides all of the same help and resources you would expect from any other slimming club, plus the team support and, perhaps crucially, a competitive element to the journey.

Games are 10-a-side and consist of two 14-minute halves with a two-minute half-time break and roll-on, roll-off subs. But you do not need to enter a full team to get involved – most players join as individuals and then get put into a team that typically competes over a 14-week season depending on the number of players and teams at a location.

But unlike normal football leagues, results are not calculated only by goals scored on the pitch; teams are awarded and deducted weight loss and weight gain ‘goal’ bonuses and punishments that are added before a result is calculated, which means a team could win 5-0 in the 30 minutes but still lose the match if the opposition has outperformed them on the scales before kick-off.

Indeed, if nine or more of a single team lose weight or remain within a healthy BMI range over a week, their team will be awarded five goals. Seven or more players completing their food diary between weigh-ins will earn their team three goals, but even just one player losing weight or completing their diary is worth a goal.

Three weeks of weight loss for…