Six packs and sacrifice

Now this is editorial commitment: An editor of Men's Health in Britain struck a blow against hypocrisy by undergoing a six-week transformation based on the kind of advice such magazines routinely give to readers. He came out the other end with a sculpted body and a cover story for which he was the subject. The story, carried in the UK Press Gazette, was as follows:

From fat hack to six-pack

Men's Health magazine has put one of its own writers on the cover after readers complained that its six-packed cover stars presented an unrealistic goal for ordinary blokes.

In an unprecedented journalistic move, commissioning editor Dan Rookwood decided to practice what his magazine preached — and after six weeks of diet and exercise, prescribed by in-house expert The Bodydoctor, achieved the body of a god.

He said: "I initially decided to get fit so that I didn't feel like a complete hypocrite working for Men's Health.

"I've gone from being in the worst shape of my life to the best, purely by practising what we preach in the magazine every month."

Editor Morgan Rees added: "To my knowledge, this is the first time a member of magazine has appeared on the front cover of the title they work for.

"Dan undertook our greatest editorial test to date and has produced some outstanding results.

"It's a real testament to both himself and Men's Health, and what better endorsement of our brand and values could we ask for?"