INTERNATIONAL Men’s Health Week is celebrated every year around the world in the middle of June.
It is an important opportunity to highlight the importance of men’s health, and to promote and support the health and wellbeing of both men and boys in our communities.
Men’s Health Week focuses on not just physical health, but also mental health and emotional wellbeing.
The week is a great opportunity to highlight the health challenges faced by men in Australia and was developed to provoke thought and create discussion about what needs to be done to improve male health.
It prompts us to encourage the men and boys we are surrounded by whether at home, at the workplace or within our community, to make both their physical and mental health a priority and remind them that asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness.
The theme of Men’s Health Week 2022 is Building Healthy Environments for Men and Boys – focusing on creating physically, mentally and emotionally healthy environments in the home, workplace and within social settings.
So let’s take a look at some men/boy’s health related facts*:
– Only 30 per cent of a man’s overall health is determined by his genetics;
– Seventy per cent is controllable through lifestyle;
– Men live nine years in poor health – mostly preventable by making small lifestyle changes;
– Inactive men are 60 per cent more likely to suffer from depression than those who are active;
– Men who sleep seven to eight hours a night have 60 per cent less risk of fatal heart attack than those who keep five hours or less;
– Men who climb 50 stairs or walk five blocks a day can lower their risk of heart attack by 25 per cent;
– Those who consume four to 10 drinks a week at most have a lower risk of developing type two diabetes. Drinking more than 10 drinks a week almost doubles your risk of type two diabetes;
– Seventy per cent of developmental and learning disabilities affect boys;
– Anxiety and asthma are top of the “serious health issues” list for boys aged 5 to 14;
– Alcohol is responsible for the most drug related deaths in the male teenage population, and;
– Between the ages of 15 to 24, young adult males experience higher than average levels of mental ill health
*Source: www.westernsydney.edu.au/mens-health-week
Whilst these facts can be a little unsettling, they highlight the need for men to be on top of their health. Support isn’t far away.
Check out the list of resources available to you both locally and online and make your health a priority today.
