Men-only slimming clubs open in capital

The classes will be aimed at men who feel intimidated and outnumbered by women at traditional dieting groups.

WeightWatchers, which is behind the scheme, said it is choosing venues such as rugby clubs and fitness centres where men would feel more comfortable.

It will pilot seven schemes nationally - four in and around London.

Mads Ryder, vice-president of WeightWatchers in Britain, said: "Despite the fact that two thirds of UK men are overweight or obese, worrying about your weight is largely seen as a female issue and it can be very difficult for a man to admit he has a problem."

Just one in 20 people who attend WeightWatchers is a man. Mr Ryder added: "We know from our research that many men feel intimidated by the traditional female-dominated meeting-room environment which is why we are trialling our men-only meetings in venues men are familiar with, such as gyms and sports clubs.

"The more relaxed and comfortable they feel in our meetings, the more inclined they will be to participate and the better success they will achieve."

WeightWatchers claims it has already run successful men-only clubs in Ireland and America.

Peter Somers, 58, from Enfield, is running a club in New Barnet after successfully losing four stone.

He said: "It can be intimidating for men to walk into a room full of women talking about how to fit into that little black dress.

"We want to make topics more male-focused, discussing alcohol and takeaways; how to cut down, not cut out." Mr Somers, a former IBM executive, weighed 14st 11lbs when he joined WeightWatchers in 2006 despite being only 5ft 5ins tall. "I was as wide as I was tall," he said, adding that previously he ate as much as 7,000 calories a day.

He now weighs 10st 10lbs. He will host his new men-only club on a Monday evening starting in January.

Mark Pavlika, 37, who will run a club at Osterley Kingsmead School in Enfield, said: "Men would rather hear about losing weight through activities they enjoy such as rugby or running, rather than aerobics."

The other clubs due to open around London are at Grasshoppers Rugby Football Club, LA Fitness in New Barnet and Virgin Active in Mill Hill.