This June marks the 20th anniversary of Men’s Health Month, first created by the U.S. Congress and a few other organizations in 1994. Men’s Health Month is all about heightening awareness of preventable health problems and encouraging early detection and treatment of disease among men and boys.1 This year, the campaign has four goals: awareness, prevention, education, and family.
Awareness: Men are at a greater risk for certain health conditions than women, besides the conditions that affect male-specific organs. This includes hypertension, high cholesterol and cancers of the skin, lungs and colon.2 But awareness isn’t just about these different conditions, it’s also about the fake treatments out there, and the Men’s Health Network has put together a great infographic that talks about counterfeit medications.
Prevention: Besides being male, many risk factors contribute to the development of these health conditions. Some of these can be managed with proper diet, exercise and other tactics, but regular screening is the best way to find a problem early. Make sure you discuss screening options with your doctor and know when and where you should go.
Education: It’s not just about raising awareness in June or even the rest of the year – it’s about teaching everyone about men’s health each and every day. As a result, the Men’s Health Network has shared a Key Health Indicators document full of information on heart disease prevalence, obesity rates and more – check it out here.
Family: If you’re a partner, brother, sister, child, cousin or even just a friend, we’re all here to support the men in our lives when they are diagnosed with a health condition.
If you’re looking to connect with others about men’s health issues, check out the forum on PatientsLikeMe – here, the men (and women) of the community chat about all things related to men’s health, and members are always happy to answer any questions you might have.
Share this post on twitter and help spread the word for men’s health.
1 http://www.menshealthmonth.org/
2 http://www.menshealthnetwork.org/library/causesofdeath.pdf
