Many overweight men ‘unconcerned’ about health risks
According to chief executive of Men’s Health Forum, Peter Baker, a large number of men are failing to recognise the health risks associated with being overweight.
Though a larger number of men are overweight than their female counterparts (66 per cent of men compared with 57 per cent of women), it seems that the majority remain unconcerned about the health risks and are less clued up about contributing factors that affect their weight than women.
22 per cent of men in England and Wales die before they reach the age of 64 (compared to 13 per cent of women). A huge contributing factor in these premature deaths is excess weight and obesity, both of which increase the risk of the biggest killers among males – heart disease and stroke.
Experts believe a contributing factor in male ignorance of the connection between excess weight and poor health could be cultural. In the past women have been the ones who faced the most pressure in terms of body image, but the issue is now beginning to affect some men.
The focus on women and their weight concerns means that as it stands many health services are aimed at females and are not considered to be ‘male friendly’. This has prompted health experts to call for more male friendly approaches in both primary health care and health promotion.
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July 14th, 2011 at 4:43 pm
A very good article. Many thanks