It's a Guy Think

Well, maybe. But in the end, the "why" doesn't matter: We're avoiding the doctor and dying. How good is that for our loved ones? How good is that for Team Guy?

Pam Brill is a psychologist who, after 14 years as an adjunct assistant professor at Dartmouth Medical School, consults with corporate leaders -- most of them men -- to help them "ditch bad health habits with passion and commitment." She said guys really have to get over the going-to-the-doc-is-a-gal-thing thing.

Her advice: "Look at your beliefs and assumptions about your body, health and mind and which ones are outdated. Look at yourself in mirror and ask, 'Am I doing what it takes to be at the top of my game and stay in it for the long run?' Be candid and unravel the beliefs that you hold. Do everything in your power to extend your warranty."

That means the usual expert exhortations: eat right, exercise and stay involved with family, friends and community life. It also means getting an annual physical, even if your health insurance doesn't cover it. And it means not waiting until your vital signs are flickering like a lantern in a cyclone before getting to the doctor. Go when the first responsible female of your acquaintance recommends it. (If we're going to win this thing, we will have to Become the Enemy.)

YOU SAY "Yeah, I'm an athlete. Played football in high school in the '70s. Still could. I could bench press 240 if I felt like it."

THEY SAY You are delusional. John Acquaviva, associate professor of health and human performance at Roanoke College in Salem, Va., has studied the phenomenon.

"The more successful they were [in their previous athletic lives,] the more likely they were to [later] engage in behavior that endangered their health -- drinking, smoking and taking part in activities with a high danger level, like riding motorcycles without helmets and playing extreme sports," said Acquaviva, who is also a personal trainer.

The British Journal of Sports Medicine reported that former soccer players were 10 times more likely to have hip problems later in life even without injuries, usually because they don't continue to stay in shape.

Men have to realize that "fitness is something we earn, it's not a lifetime membership," Acquaviva said. "Everything we gain over years of working out can be lost in a very short period of time. We call it de-training."

The good news: We recover fast once we get back on track. The Framingham Heart Study in Massachusetts compared people who had just started exercising to a similar group whose members had once worked out regularly but no longer did. It found lower mortality rates among the current exercisers, not the formers.

So, no resting on your laurels, or your duff. Get to the gym, get walking, running, swimming, wall climbing, squash playing, weight training, whatever. It's time to become an athlete all over again. Just no more tackle football, okay?