Life expectancy for men in Ireland is 75, which is almost five years younger than their female counterparts. And while heart disease and cancer are the biggest killers, many lives could be prolonged if men were to report their illnesses to professionals sooner rather than later.
According to a spokesman for the HSE, men have higher death rates than women for all the leading causes of death and there are a number of reasons for this.
“Poor lifestyles are responsible for a high proportion of chronic diseases amongst men,” he says. “And late presentation to health services also leads to a large number of problems becoming untreatable.
“The most common reasons for poor health in men include obesity, lack of exercise, poor diet, too much alcohol, smoking, mental health issues, lack of protection from harmful rays of the sun and too much screen time.”
But men can improve their health in a number of simple steps:
1. Be weight and waist line aware
2. Stay physically active
3. Cut down on portion sizes
4. Reduce alcohol consumption
5. Stop smoking
6. Eat less meat and more vegetables
7. Find an enjoyable interest to contrast work life.
But some ailments are not so apparent and this is why it is important for men to also pay attention to their mental health.
Brid O’Meara is the director of services at Aware. She says we all need to encourage our menfolk to open up and seek help before things become too problematic.
"It is reported that men are slower to seek help when they are experiencing mental distress, with men's mental health being reported as "a silent crisis" (Psychology Today, 2017)," she says. "So we would encourage any man who is concerned about his mental health to make use of the services which are available, to reach out for help and to accept help.
“A lot of men can feel that it is weak to feel depressed but it is real strength to speak out and tell someone that you are not feeling well and need some help.”
Health Tip of the Week is sponsored by Pfizer as part of its Healthy Town initiative. Each year Pfizer selects a town to take part in a unique initiative aimed at showing you – no matter what age you are, or indeed where you live – simple steps to improve your health.
irishtimes.com/sponsored/healthy-town
