Be involved with Men’s Health Month

Be involved with Men’s Health Month

Each year, the entire month of June is dedicated as Men’s Health Month meant to raise awareness of issues impacting the health and wellness of men and boys. This month helps educate and remind men and each of us of preventable health problems affecting men and to encourage them to seek out early detection and treatment of disease or illnesses they may face.

Healthier men live happier, longer lives.  But unfortunately, men may not always take the best care of themselves.  They often neglect their health by skipping annual checkups, overwork themselves with little time for relaxation, or ignore advice on eating healthy and regular exercise.

Men are often thought of as the stronger sex.  But are they really?  When figures and statistics on men’s overall health and well-being are crunched, the reality looks radically different.  Men are far more likely to be affected by certain diseases and die at a younger age than women.  Here is the truth of what really is going on when it comes to men and their health:

·      When it comes to rates of death, men will die at a higher rate than women from the top 10 causes of death and are the victims of over 92% of workplace death. 

·      In 1920, women lived on average, one year longer than men.  Today, men, on average, die almost five years earlier than women.

·      American men live sicker lives and die at a younger age than American women.

·      Men are not good about getting annual health checkups.  Women are 100% more likely to visit the doctor for annual examinations and preventative services than men.

·      African-American men are at a much higher risk of being the victim of a homicide – 1 in 30 black men compared to 1 in 132 black females; for white men – 1 in 179 for while males compared to 1 in 495 for white females.

·      Men are more likely to be undiagnosed with depression as they are four times more likely to commit suicide than women. 

·      Men are at a higher risk of dying from the following disease than women – heart disease, cancer, injuries, stroke, suicide, and HIV/AIDS.

·      For every 100 baby girls born, there are 115 baby boys born.  Yet, the male fetus is at a greater risk of miscarriage and stillbirth.

·      Of newborn babies, males are 25% more likely to die than females.

·      Baby boys make up 3 out of every 5 sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) occurrences.

·      Men have two times the rate of hearing loss than women.

·      The male hormone testosterone is linked to elevations of LDL, the bad cholesterol and declines in HDL, the good cholesterol.

·      Men appear to have a weaker immune system as they fewer infection-fighting T-cells than women.

·      By the age of 100, women outnumber men eight to one.

In this year of 2019, the more we can educate men and those who love them, to encourage and persuade men to maintain good health habits and self-care and to find healthy ways of asking for help without being concerned that it makes them look weak of unmanly, will be a huge step in the right direction of advancing men’s health.

Here a few ideas on how to become more involved in the health and well-being of your grandfather, father, husband, brother, or son:

·      Help the men in your life to set up regular doctor/dentist/optometrist appointments.  Men often do not think of these things and could use your help

·      Learn more about health conditions affecting men and how to help them prevent these issues.

·      Remind men to take care of themselves by choosing healthier foods, becoming physically active, wearing sunscreen, and taking time to engage in activities/hobbies.

·      Be sure they have regular health screenings such as prostate exams checking for prostate cancer and performing testicular self-exams checking for testicular cancer.

·      Discourage excessive alcohol consumption or smoking cigarettes or using chewing tobacco.  If either is a problem, consult with their primary care doctor on seeking help. 

To find out more on bringing health awareness and disease prevention messages to men, visit menshealthnetwork.org.