Men are leading in "Some Areas."

Men are leading in “Some Areas.”
old re-post.......(skip if of no interest) ____________________________________________
If you ask almost anyone, in a comparison of Men & Women,
Who is more likely to get cancer or to commit suicide,
The vast majority of people will say women.

But the reality is –
That Men lead Women in 14 out of 15 leading causes of death.
Not only are men 29 per cent more likely to get cancer,
They are 52 per cent more likely to die from it.
Men's health researchers Dr. Don McCreary
And Dr. Ross Gray surveyed 300 men and 300 women
Between the ages of 40 and 60 and discovered
That both sexes believed that men died from prostate cancer
And women died from breast cancer.

In fact, the number one cancer killer of both sexes is lung cancer.
"That's great marketing," says McCreary,
Editor of the International Journal of Men's Health,
In an article in “Canadian Health,”
"but it distorts the truth
So they're not paying attention to the other symptoms."
Numbers don't lie

The truth is pretty astounding:
Men are 39 per cent more likely to die from diabetes than women,
55 per cent more likely to die from cancer,
64 per cent more likely to die from pneumonia and flu,
78 per cent more likely to die from heart disease,
4 times more likely to die from suicide,
Twice as likely to die from accidents and so on.

Why are men so vulnerable?
One reason is that overall,
Men pay less attention to health information
And healthy lifestyle than women.
Indeed, men are more likely then women to smoke,
More likely to drink more and to binge drink,
More likely to have a poor diet,
More likely to be overweight,
Less likely to wear sunscreen (but more likely to work outdoors)
And less likely to make regular appointments
With their doctors for check-ups.
Where they are better off than women,
Is that men report engaging in exercise more than women.
But there's a drop-off: as men age, they exercise less-and they shouldn't.

Doing what's expected
Another reason why the statistics
Are so different is because of the way boys are socialized.
"One of the biggest aspects of the male gender role is toughness,
Not displaying weakness," McCreary explains.
"But also not being a woman, not being a girl."
And it's a double-edged sword.
Boys are taught to "take it like a man";
Health problems are seen as a sign of weakness
And, at the same time, taking risks with health
Is seen as being tough.

Girls go to the doctor on a regular basis,
And that's been socialized into them.
The same is not true for boys.
"The most likely cancer to kill men
Between the ages of 15 and 30 is testicular cancer,
But most physicians don't talk to boys
About doing a testicular self-examination," he adds.

Mental health issues among men,
Says McCreary, are understudied and underreported.
Depression and anxiety are major issues,
As is evidenced by the suicide numbers,
Yet many men don't want to see a doctor
Or therapist for help because
Depression is thought of as a 'woman's problem'
And a sign of weakness.
In light of this, the American Psychological Association
And the National Institutes of Health
Recently launched a health promotion campaign
Targeted at men about depression.

So Guys, Help boys learn about healthy choices!
One of the keys to making long-term changes
Is to teach children proper health behavior
Starting from a young age, McCreary adds,
"Normalizing good health and prevention
Without making it seem feminine or weak."

While men may be different from women in many ways,
The same health rules apply to both:
Don't smoke, Get regular exercise-and don't let it drop off as you age
Take advantage of screenings available to you ,
Eat a healthy diet, Protect yourself from the sun,
Drink in moderation, Maintain a healthy weight,
AND BY ALL MEANS-
See your doctor regularly-
Particularly if you notice any change in your health.


For so many of us who have recently taken our health
In to our hands and made the needed lifestyle changes through WLS,
This is all like “Preaching to the Choir,”
Or “Closing the Barn-Door After the Horses are Out.”

The aspect of passing on to “Boys” however is the Key, I think.
Who among us if given the opportunity to “Time Travel” back
And visit our former selves, wouldn’t make sure that we convinced
Our past selves to drop the snacks and get more exercise
AT ALL COSTS.

For those of you with Sons, Grandson’s, Nephews, Etc….
How might you Convince them, Help them, Motivate them,
To fight the weight while they still have their youth?

Ideas?

Best Wishes-
Dx

I've always been told that men check out earlier than women, or at least husbands check out earlier than wives............because they want to. JF

I think that the going to the MD as a sign of weakness mainly applies to guys in their 30's and up. When you get to a certain age, you are forced to see the MD because of medical conditions that just can't be ignored when you reach a certain age.  No one likes the wonderful additional checks that accompany getting into your 40's & 50's (i.e. prostate and colonoscopy, I was real lucky, since my uncle died of colon cancer in his late 60's (he refused to see MD and it was too advanced to be able to treat when it was diagnosed), my MD wanted me to have my first at the age of 40.  Like most guys I procrastinated, but finally did it.  They found a couple of polyps, one of which was pre-cancerous, so if my MD had not pushed me until the age of 50, I probably would have been diagnosed with colon cancer.)  I also think most guys are afraid of getting bad news when they go in to see the MD.

The younger guys have different issues with the MD, which I think is a symptom of some cultural changes.  I am not sure of the cause (body image from movies magazines just like women), but I have noticed that some many guys now a days  have to pee in a stall and not at a urinal.  Also I have noticed that many guys are afraid to get undressed in a locker room or who will just rush to change and not take a shower after a hard workout.  I find it surprising that the big and older guys are more comfortable with their bodies than the younger and in shape guys.  Maybe it is the result of newer homes having more than one bathroom, no one grows up sharing a bathroom any more.   I think that they are uncomfortable with getting undressed in front of the MD.  Females are more used to it, because they are started in their teens with the importance of seeing a gynecologist at least yearly. 

Just something to think about.

Jim 

 

 Wow  amazing stats, DXdude !    < CLUNK >   Funny thing, though, is a just a few years ago the experts were also talking about how more likely women were to die in the hospital from, along other things, heart attacks/disease, b/c apparently they didn't receive the same level or aggressiveness of health care while in there as men did, for some reason .