Worried about beer bellies and receding hairline? Don’t just stop there, do something about it!

Mumbai: What’s common between Bradley Cooper and Zach Galifianakis apart from the fact that both are Hollywood personalities and have acted in Hangover series? They sport the kind of features which a recent study claims make men stressed — Bradley has stopped hiding his receding hairline and Zach can’t hide his beer belly or ‘moobs’. Maybe, Bradley is used to his new look and Zach is not bothered at all. But men, generally, these days are concerned a lot about their body insecurities as much as women, according to the study, done by One Poll in Massachusetts.

S. Sampathkumar, an IT employee working in Pune, says though he is not too stressed about his receding hairline, he admits to feeling bad at times when he compares himself with his friends. “Pressure comes when my parents talk about my marriage. But I am planning to try out hair replant. The good thing is there are options available to cure balding and why not try it as long as it’s safe?” asks Sampathkumar. He also says he is more concerned about how he looks and has enrolled with a gym to improve the rest of the body.

While Chennai-based fitness trainer and dancer Jeffrey Vardon agrees that there is pressure on men these days to look good, he says this is not necessarily a bad trend. “When a person sees everybody around him or her looking good, they will obviously feel the pressure. They will also like to groom themselves better at a salon and want to be known as fashion conscious. This mentality was earlier limited to women and men in the fashion and film industry and now, it has extended to corporate sector. I don’t find any harm in it.

Actor Ganesh Venkatraman says: “The general understanding is that men who give proper attention to themselves are more reliable. While inner quality matters more, it’s equally important to look good as well. We are not born with a beard and paunch is something you develop because of your unhealthy habits,” he says.

But Ganesh is not okay with going after trends and doing something unnatural. “Everybody is blessed with a set of features and you should accept them. As long as someone is trying to make the features better in a natural way, it’s fine. Doing steroids for muscular look and surgeries to look good are definitely not OK,” he concludes.