Is this the most pointless bit of research ever? We’re inclined to say yes. According to researchers in Pennsylvania, men are put off eating a healthy diet because they feel that meat is masculine and vegetables are for wimps. Well, duh…

The Irish Independent reports that those crazy-smart boffins in America have found that men have a strong psychological association between meat and being macho, and as a result, they feel that eating a salad somehow makes them wimpy or less manly.

Researchers wasted their time by conducting a number of experiments that looked at the words men used in association with certain foods, such as meat or milk.

The researchers discovered that meat seemed to generate more masculine words like: “strong” and “tough” when people discussed it. And further research revealed that male meat eaters are generally seen  as more manly than vegetarians.

“We examined whether people in Western cultures have a metaphoric link between meat and men,” said Professor Raul Rozin, one of the researchers involved with the study.

“To the strong, traditional, macho, bicep-flexing, All-American male, red meat is a strong, traditional, macho, bicep-flexing, All-American food,” said Professor Rozin.

“Soy is not. To eat it, they would have to give up a food they saw as strong and powerful like themselves for a food they saw as weak and wimpy,” he added.

But not everyone agrees with these conclusions…

“It’s absolute nonsense,” said Liz O’Neill of the Vegetarian Society.

Ms O’Neill stated that there was a “misconception” that vegetarianism was a “bit girly.”

Either way, we were just looking for an excuse to use the following YouTube clip…