Weighty Issues - The SATC Influence Continues...

According to today's Philadelphia Inquirer, when it comes to the gender gap, the scales are tipping on the diet front:

In the battle of the sexes, women have ruled when it comes to dieting. We know how to weigh foods, measure portion sizes, and choose the least fattening items on a menu. And we know that restraint is essential.

To most men, dieting has seemed "girly." Guys don't like to be seen counting calories and eating steamed vegetables or salads with dressing on the side.

But the recent low-carb revolution has changed the diet landscape, argues Amy Bentley, an associate professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University. Bentley says high-protein mania has made dieting politically correct for men. A guy feels manly if he can go out in public and carve up a hunk of red meat at dinner.

And, ironically, after my diatribe on "Sex and the City," the show is among those credited with gents' newfound body conscious sensibilities:

If men are dieting in increasing numbers, what is the reason? Is it that baby boomers have reached an age when, unless they stay fit, high cholesterol, diabetes and heart disease are just around the corner?

Or is the relentless tide of information about obesity in America hitting home? Has popular culture, with its trendy metrosexuals and women who discuss men's bodies on Friends and Sex and the City, made men more aware of their weight, as well as their sex appeal?

And, if I learned anything from my exploration of SATC's influence on women and dating, than it should be clear that there are no simple answers when it comes to the male of the species either. (Simple men perhaps - but no simple answers.)