Hosted by Men’s Health Network since 1992, the month of June is dedicated to enriching men’s health and wellness through a broad spectrum of national screening and educational campaigns.

Men’s Health Week is celebrated during the week leading up to and including Father’s Day and serves as a time to raise awareness of preventable health problems and encourage early detection and treatment of disease among men. The week also includes Wear Blue Friday on June 14th. You can show your support and encourage your colleagues to wear something blue to show concern for the health and well-being of men. From the current research I have been doing in this area, we need it!

We instinctively assume that males and females each constitute half of any given population, but the reality is that the ratio of the sexes varies by age throughout the life course. In most societies, more boys are born than girls, females live longer than males, and the ratio of men to women declines with increasing age.

According to Dr. David Gremillion of the Men’s Health Network, “There is a silent health crisis in America, it’s that fact that, on average, American men live sicker and die younger than American women.”

Men die at higher rates than women from 9 of the top 10 causes of death and are the victims of over 92% of workplace deaths. In 1920, women lived, on average, one year longer than men. Currently, men are dying an average of 5 years younger than women and lead in nine out of 10 of the top causes of death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Men are at greater risk for death in every age group. More males than females are born (105 vs 100), but by age 35, women outnumber men.

Men’s Health Is A Family Issue

To quote Congressman Bill Richardson, “Recognizing and preventing men’s health problems is not just a man’s issue. Because of its impact on wives, mothers, daughters, and sisters, men’s health is truly a family issue.” Of the 9 million+ older persons living alone, 80% are women. More than 1/2 the widows living in poverty were not poor before the death of their husbands.

One of the problems is that men are less likely to invest time, energy and money into prevention and self care, than are women. Women are 100% more likely to visit the doctor for annual examinations and preventive services than men according to the CDC enabling them to address issues at early stages and adopt self care and health services to improve them. Depression in men is largely undiagnosed contributing to the fact that men are four times as likely to commit suicide. More than half of premature deaths among men are preventable. But you can’t prevent a problem if you don’t know it exists.   

The first step is becoming aware of the problem and taking steps for a healthier life., which is our definition for the Self Care Awakening. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, “What price can you put on your health?

For the next few weeks we will concern ourselves with simple self care actions that we all can do to be Healthy by Choice.