A small fold of skin falls over his swimming trunks. Tufts of fluffy hair frame a soft navel. And those big, fat arms are crying out for a hug.
Forget six packs: if a man doesn’t have at least one love handle, I’m not interested. And countless women feel the same. Believe me.
America went wild this week over a juicy series of topless beach photos; hirsute and extra handsome Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce on vacation in the Bahamas with his singer Taylor Swift.
The power couple looked blissfully happy and comfortable in each other’s company. In fact, Travis was so bold that he rested his hand on Taylor’s ass – a PDA that I greatly respected.
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Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed scrolling through the different shots, as I imagine many ladies did.
I also found the visuals quite refreshing. Too often, celeb beach photos are a stream of paper-thin bodies or ultra-cut abs, achievable only through LA surgeons or starvation.
But here was a couple in fantastic shape who looked…well, healthy.
However, according to a frighteningly large portion of social media, Travis’ physique was nothing to marvel at.
Apparently this back-to-back Superbowl champion has ‘dad bod’: a slightly chubby body that you would expect from a middle-aged man with a lapsed workout routine and a beer habit.
The conclusion: he has let himself go. (Reminder that Superbowl LVIII was last month).
Amazingly, Travis, 34, felt compelled to defend himself against such ridiculous insults. He took to his podcast to tell fans that he’s only pulling a little more weight because he’s on spring break and enjoying a well-deserved offseason.
How ridiculous. Famous women have been subjected to criticism about their perfectly healthy bodies since the beginning of time. And now we apply the same toxic standards to men.
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First of all, as a health and science journalist, I can tell you categorically that Travis’ missing six-pack tells us absolutely nothing about his actual health.
As we know from his on-field performance, Travis is built like a rock. The fact that we cannot see every vein and muscle tendon is due to a slightly higher body fat content than that of a Dior catwalk model. That’s not a bad thing.
Research has found that men with less than 13 percent body fat (which is considered “athletic”) are at risk for critically low testosterone levels—which can wreak havoc on everything from mental health to the immune system.
Intriguingly, other research even suggests that too much abdominal muscle mass increases the risk of heart disease.
Scientific suspicions aside, it hardly needs to be stated that Kelce – a man with more than a decade of elite sport under his belt – couldn’t be further from ‘unhealthy’ if he tried.
Sorry to break it to the weightlifting-obsessed gym brethren, but a lifetime of regular physical activity is a better predictor of a long, disease-free life than the amount of visible muscle on a body. Studies have long proven this.
As a health and science journalist, I can tell you categorically that Travis’ missing six-pack tells us absolutely nothing about his actual health.
For at least six months of the year, Kelce and the Chiefs are fed a careful, low-calorie diet that consists of an abundance of fresh fruits, vegetables and lean meats prepared by crew chief Kumar Ferguson.
But more to the point, Kelce’s physique is quite impressive, even as it is now, in the offseason.
What man wouldn’t kill for his killer pecs, firm thighs and broad shoulders?
If this muscular, masculine – and frankly, incredibly attractive – build is considered ‘overweight’ and lazy, what chance does that have for the rest of us?
And crucially, what message does that send to a young generation of boys who are increasingly concerned about their appearance, and what is ‘normal’?
Serious eating disorders are on the rise among young men. Some major U.S. diet-related clinics have reported a more than 100 percent increase in male inquiries since 2022.
Particularly widespread is a form of exercise obsession known as ‘bigorexia’. Boys become obsessed with gaining weight and getting a bigger cut. They spend hours a day at the gym and tracking their food and ‘macros’, all to the detriment of their mental health.
A slimmed-down Kelce isn’t nearly as manly – or handsome!
Social media and the proliferation of ‘perfect’ bodies are obviously part of the problem. But so does a culture that writes off one of the world’s greatest athletes as a little chubby.
As it is, there is so much more to life than the way we look.
All my girlfriends agree that a man with a perfectly smoothed and sculpted torso signals one major red flag: he spends way too much time at the gym (and looking in the mirror!).
Where would a girlfriend fit into that scheme? Could we enjoy the best parts of dating – the lazy weekends with ice cream and big bowls of spaghetti?
The truth is, women don’t care if you have a bit of a belly. If anything, it takes away the pressure of having to look like a Victoria’s Secret model every night.
In the immortal words of Cindy Lauper, we just want to have fun. And Travis’ hot body tells me he does too.