Men are notoriously bad when it comes to matters concerning their health. Not all men of course but, if you pay heed to the statistics, the vast majority. Men are far less frequent visitors to their GPs and, it seems, are far less aware of their own bodies and the heath problems that they may incur simply due to the fact that they are men.
There are magazines which purport to be about ‘men’s health’ though if one has a quick look past the image of a ripped fitness model on the cover it quickly becomes apparent that these magazines are about building ‘better’ bodies and by that we do not necessarily mean healthier. These magazines are intended for those who want to look better, ‘get your beach body in ten days’, ‘how to get killer abs’ or ‘how to win a woman’ seems to be the main emphasis.
There are health pages in the daily papers but the stories are usually more sensationalist than everyday health matters. Women on the whole seem far more knowledgeable when it comes to their bodies; many go for cervical smears and check their breasts for lumps. I doubt the percentage is comparable to the number of men who regularly check their testicles for lumps. So is it machismo or ignorance that makes many men so lackadaisical about their health? Perhaps it is a combination of the two.
The problem is serious enough, however, for the UK Government to be launching a new initiative aimed at men over forty. A survey which has just been published has revealed that only ten per cent of men in their early to mid forties realise that they may suffer from erectile dysfunction in the next ten years of their lives even though the problem affects forty per cent of all men over the age of forty. Most of the men who were questioned did not realise that erectile dysfunction could be symptomatic of serious conditions such as diabetes or heart disease. The new campaign will be called 40over40, a reference to the percentage of men who will suffer from ED over that age.
Erectile dysfunction is, thanks to drugs such as Viagra, Cialis and Levitra, a treatable condition in a way that it never was only a decade ago. Regardless of that fact, however, it is time for men to pay more attention to their health and well being. After all, to cite the old saying, it is the most valuable thing that we will ever own.