2010-11-03 07:03:53
By Michelle Roberts Health reporter, BBC News
Doug Devaney, who had an angina attack, avoided visiting a doctor as he "didn't
want to be a fuss"
When it comes to health, men really are the weaker sex and this is an imbalance
that needs redressing, say experts.
Men are more likely to get cancer than women and are also more likely to die
from it.
Heart disease, strokes and obesity are other conditions with a heavier toll in
men.
And when it comes to happiness, women again appear to have the upper hand if
you look at suicide rates.
From the list of male ailments it is clear that many are related to unhealthy
lifestyle choices, like drinking, smoking and a poor diet with little exercise.
Experts also know that men are particularly bad at seeking medical help even
when they need it.
But is it fair to lay the blame with men themselves?
The Men's Health Forum is launching a new campaign to tackle this poor health
record.
It says too many men are still dying far too young.
Early grave
In England and Wales, 42% of men die before their 75th birthday compared to 26%
of women.
Start Quote
It is very easy and tempting to blame men for this and to be fatalistic about
it but we do not think that's right
End Quote Peter Baker Men's Health Forum
To put an absolute number on it, almost 100,000 men - which would be enough to
fill all of the British Army full-time posts - are dying prematurely each year
compared to about 66,000 women.
Yet most of these deaths are avoidable.
The biggest male killers are heart attacks and strokes. These circulatory
diseases kill 300 in every 100,000 men compared to 190 in every 100,000 women.
Next comes cancer. Data shows men are 70% more likely than women to die from
cancers that affect both sexes and 60% more likely to get cancer.
In third place are respiratory diseases, shortly followed by dementias and
diseases of the liver.
Most of these diseases are linked to avoidable factors, such as obesity and
heavy alcohol consumption, which are more commonly a problem among men.
Self-inflicted?
As a group, men out-drink and out-smoke women and, what's more, only 40% of men
do enough physical activity.
How to reverse the imbalance, the Men's Health Forum way
This may partly explain why 41% of men are overweight compared with 32% of
women.
Men are also more likely to violently end their own life, either inadvertently
in a road traffic accident or intentionally via suicide.
Although the rates of suicide attempts do not differ between the sexes, men are
far more successful at the job. Of all people who kill themselves, 76% are men.
Nicola Peckett, of Samaritans, said it was still unclear why men fared less
well than women when it comes to health and survival.
"Some of it is because men are very bad at seeking help.
"We also know that men don't access services as much as women."
For example, men visit the GP far less than women, even when you discount the
extra visits some women require for pregnancy care.
Start Quote
It's not simply just that men are not seeking help. We need to look deeper than
this. Could it be because our society favours girls or that we expect too much
of our men?
End Quote Nicola Peckett Samaritans
The Men's Health Forum believes that getting men to be more involved in their
health would help close the gender gap.
The charity's chief executive Peter Baker said: "It is very easy and tempting
to blame men for this and to be fatalistic about it, but we do not think that's
right. Men do care about their health and don't want to die young.
"One issue is that the health system is not working for them. Services are not
very male friendly."
Ms Peckett believes there are wider issues to explain why men fare so badly.
"It's not simply just that men are not seeking help. We need to look deeper
than this.
"Could it be because our society favours girls or that we expect too much of
our men?
"We've been asking these questions and have enlisted the help of social
scientists and anthropologists to help us find out."
She said their researchers are looking for societal causes.
Early work with male focus groups suggests factors like job security are also
involved.
"There is anecdotal evidence that traditional male jobs are disappearing and
more feminine skill roles are taking their place.
"We also know that men who lose their employment can feel emasculated.
"And because they tend to bottle up their feelings and don't like to talk about
things, problems can spiral out of control."
In the meantime, she said there were plenty of things men could do to improve
their quality of life and survival odds, including getting more exercise.