I think a lot of it is conditioning by the media, which is built on the general tendency for much of the last few decades on women being more likely to follow a low cal/low fat diet (approximately 90% of weight watchers members are female), subsisting mostly on salads and fruit in an attempt to achieve or maintain a low body weight. (In real life I don't personally know any female who eats LC and isn't afraid of fat - most I know who are on any kind of diet will automatically opt for a calorie counting diet, which means it's inevitably based on low fat, with lots of fruits and veggies) On the other hand, men are more likely to be depicted in the media as firing up the grill to cook some big juicy burgers, steaks, or ribs, or sitting down to a big plate of wings, or bacon and eggs, with the unmistakable message that real men eat meat and fat, and lots of it.

To that end, Hungry Man meals with their double portion of meat (and no skimping on the overall fat content of the meal - at least a couple of them have 72 g fat) are obviously marketed towards men, while all the "healthy" low fat, low calorie, minimal protein frozen meals (Healthy Choice, Lean Cuisines, Smart Ones, usually with far less than 10 g fat) are generally marketed towards women. Remember this commercial for yogurt? How about this one? Those were both blatantly marketed towards women - you don't see too many fat free yogurt ads actually marketed towards men, although now that full fat greek yogurt is becoming fashionable, it's become a little more manly... but not with flavors that mimic decadent desserts, or marketed as being irresistible to women.


Hence, I think at least in some ways, when it comes to choosing a diet, women will generally tend to go the low fat route, which inevitably involves mostly veggies, fruits and other low fat/fat free foods (pasta, bread) - in part because it's what's been pushed on them for the last several decades, and in part because they tend to read more about diets in general (always looking for a new diet, a diet that really works), and the diet information tends to point out how much healthier for you a diet low in fat and meat is supposed to be, while a diet high in meat and fat will be labeled as a "heart attack on a plate". Men are more likely to go for a diet that sounds more manly, such as the Drinking Man's Diet, or some version of LC that allows them larger portions of meats and fats, because frankly, all those salad greens, low fat this, and fat free that isn't going to be satiating to a man.

But that's just the marketing, and how it's geared towards men vs. women.



Other than on LC forums like this on, in real life, I may not know any women who eat LC/keto, but I also don't know any men in real life who eat LC/Keto. I also don't know any men who voluntarily strictly eat low fat either - there's just not enough in that kind of diet to be satiating for them.




For myself, much as I tried, I could never really get into a low fat, veggies and fruit based diet - the carb content made me so hungry that it ended up more like the cookies, cake, and potato chip diet. So my vote is no, LC and/or keto aren't necessarily more appealing to men than women. I think it's that a lot of women are just scared to even try a diet based mostly on foods they've been warned for so long is bad for them, and will cause them to gain weight.