Spring Health starts in the pages of NEWSWEEK and expands once it's online. Explore general health topics accurately and entertainingly, from breakthroughs in research to the latest thinking from experts on allergies, men's health, the heart, COPD, sleep and more.
by Avery Hurt
You pictured the speaker as female, right? If you did, you are not so much guilty of gender stereotyping as you are unconsciously aware that women are far more likely than men to be attentive to their health.
The problem starts young. A study in Pediatrics found that teenage boys often tend to stop seeing their doctors for routine physicals and preventive care around the age of 15, at least in part because of a belief that it is somehow unmanly to visit a doctor. It doesn’t seem to get much better with age. “Most physicians will tell you that men are much less likely than women to come in for regular checkups,” says Rick Kellerman, M.D., president of the American Academy of Family Physicians. That’s unfortunate, because most of the leading causes of death in men are at least in part modifiable by wise lifestyle choices and good preventive care.
So whether you are 15, 50 or 85, take your body in for routine maintenance. Keeping an eye on your weight, blood pressure and cholesterol levels is essential. As you get older, other tests come into play, such as screening for diabetes and colon cancer. A few vaccinations, such as influenza, pneumonia and a tetanus booster, are probably in order as well. And men do lose bone mass as they age—something else to discuss with your doctor.
One screening that is not common, but probably should be, is for depression, says William Curry, M.D., associate dean for primary care at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine. Though women are about twice as likely as men to suffer from depression, men commit suicide four times as often as women do, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In addition, “People often don’t realize they are depressed, but go to the doctor with other complaints. Depression is a factor in many other illnesses,” says Dr. Curry.
Screenings aren’t one-size-fits-all, though. Working closely with your doctor is the best approach. By looking at your risk factors, family history and general state of health, you and your health-care provider can design a personalized program of screenings and other preventive care.
As important as it is to get routine care, good health care doesn’t stop at the clinic door. You have to do your part. Here are the basics.
Pay attention to what you eat. You don’t have to track calories obsessively or stress over fat content and carb counts. Just make sure you eat a well-balanced diet of real food. That means avoiding junk and sugary sodas, choosing whole grains and plenty of fruits and vegetables, and maintaining a healthy weight.
Move it. Once again, no extremes are necessary. Just get off the sofa and get moving. There is plenty of research suggesting that something as simple as a 30-minute walk every day can make a huge difference in your chances of getting seriously ill—as well as make you feel better now.
Don’t smoke. If you want to live a long and healthy life, don’t smoke. Enough said.
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