Thirty-five per cent of men would surrender a year of their life in order to achieve their desired body size or shape, a small study carried out at the University of the West of England's Centre for Appearance Research in Bristol has shown. With the media focusing on females as the sex prone to fretting about body issues, has the nation been mistaken all these years?

Beer bellies, lack of muscle tone and man boobs were the biggest nail-biting concerns of the 400 men surveyed. One in five straight men said they compared their physique with those of magazine models, athletes and film stars, while one in four said they felt too self-conscious to go to the gym.

And if you thought fellas had a tendency to bottle their feelings up inside, you'd be wrong again. Eight percent said they regularly confided their body anxieties in family and friends.

So, just as women feel the strain to look like the models in fashion magazines, it appears that men are just as intimidated by the hunky males in lads magazines, despite the fact steroids have obviously been a factor in their buff physiques.

As the danger of eating disorders and body dysmorphic syndrome, caused by the media's 'model' standards, become ever prevalent for both sexes, our guest editor Dr Christian Jessen says it's time we confront our body issues and boost our self esteem.

'The more we can talk about these issues, the more generally acceptable they will become and the more likely it will be that those who currently suffer in silence will come forward and ask for help.'

Now that's a New Year's resolution we're prepared to back.

Picture credit: anemoneprojectors