Raising Awareness of Men's Health Issues
With men less likely to seek help regarding their health than women, it’s important this week to help raise awareness.
Men’s Health Week, from the 13th to 19th of June, was founded in 1994 to help raise visibility on the statistics of men being more likely than women to die from many of these conditions.
When tackling the essential components of men’s health including mental health, heart disease, prostate/testicular cancer, and obesity, it’s key to recognise the influencing factors that can impact these. This can include the affluence of an area, or the occupation of the individual.
Here are a few ways to combat common health issues impacting men today.
Cardiovascular Disease: The Heart of It
According to statistics compiled by the British Heart Foundation*, 1 in 7 men (compared to 1 in 11 women) die each year from cardiovascular disease (CVD).
Diet is heavily linked to all health factors mentioned, but impacts CVD especially, with fatty, processed foods increasing body fat percentages, and therefore depleting the capacity for blood to pump around the body, making it work twice as hard.
Small efforts can go a long way:
Swap processed foods for freshly cooked alternatives of the same favourites
Don’t skip the pub, make the pint last longer and reduce your units
When batch cooking, throw in more vegetables to get in your 5-a-day
Overweight and Obesity: Getting Active
In Wales, 66% of men are overweight, with a quarter residing in the obese category. This contrasts with 54% for women. These figures from Public Health Wales further highlight the health issues that 1 in 2 adults do not do the recommended amount of physical activity each week.
Consistency for activity is key. Cutting down on food, or getting out for a long run can be daunting for many, but creating a calorie deficit to combat excess weight is always possible:
Get a walk in with friends and skip the transport where possible
Take part in living room yoga to get moving on a daily basis
Get stuck in with more garden and household chores to burn calories
With 1 in 20 cancer cases being linked to being overweight or obese, weight loss is one of the most impactful health factors to change.
Mental Health: Mind for Change
While the stats for suicides are higher for men than in women, there is ways to combat and address this.
With social acceptance for men to speak out still with plenty of room for growth, it can them less likely to reach out and support. Support is here for men, and there are ways to tackle mental health for men:
Reach out more to friends and loved ones to talk or catch up, who may be able to offer you extra support
Give yourself more self-care, with increase water intake, more sleep, more exercise and better food to avoid insulin dips that can make you feel miserable
If your thoughts and feelings are becoming unmanageable, please seek support through your GP
Prostate and Testicular Cancer: Body Aware
Keeping aware of physical changes with your body is important. For men, the two main cancers to be aware of are prostate and testicular cancer, and catching them early is vital.
For men over 40, ensure to attend your regular check-ups for prostate cancer
For men of all ages, follow the information on the NHS 111 Wales website on how to check for symptoms and keep on top of it