Beyond
Walking

By Ronda Gates, MS

Ronda Gates, MS, is a pharmacy grad who traded her white coat for a pair of athletic shoes and never looked back. Her health promotion business, LIFESTYLES, provides motivational speaking, program development, and fitness assessment services to support people making a lifestyle change. She has developed health promotion programs for many organizations nationwide.
Visit www.rondagates.com for a complimentary subscription to Ronda’s weekly email newsletter.

An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.

— Henry David
Thoreau

Men Walk About Too

Recently, while waiting for a delayed flight at the airport, I wandered into a bookstore in search of a magazine to pass the time. My interests took me to the “health and wellness” section where I discovered that the magazines oriented to women far surpassed those oriented to men. I shouldn’t be surprised. Despite my belief that men, whose life expectancy is shorter than women, would be eager to pay more attention to their bodies, magazine publishers have simply responded to research about decision-making behaviors that reveals that women make the majority of health care decisions for their families.

Several things work against men. They tend to smoke and drink more than women. They seek medical help far less often than women. Some of them define themselves by their work or their abilities as wage earners, which can add to the kind of chronic low-key stress that triggers disease. Chief among these stress-related diseases are heart disease and stroke, followed by cancer and respiratory disease. While women worry more about breast cancer and the diseases of their reproductive organs, men experience male-only health conditions, such as prostate cancer. This, like many of the major health risks that men face — for instance, colon cancer or heart disease — can now be prevented and treated thanks to screening tests that can find diseases early when they are easier to treat.

So whether you are a male reader of Walk About who is interested in living long and living well or a female reader who loves the men in her life, here’s Men’s Health 101 to support your quest for knowledge.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lists heart disease as the leading cause of death in men. Some of their daunting statistics include:
• Heart disease continues to be the leading cause of death for men in the United States. (Results from the Framingham Heart Study suggest that men have a 49% lifetime risk of developing coronary heart disease after the age of 40.)
• The average age of a first heart attack for men is 66 years.
• Almost half of men who have a heart attack under age 65 die within eight years.
• Between 70% and 89% of sudden cardiac events occur in men.

Guidelines for heart disease (and stroke) prevention are the same for men and women:
• Don’t smoke or use other tobacco products. Avoid exposure to secondhand smoke.
• Maintain a healthy weight. (Be especially cautious if you gain weight around your waist. See www.rondagates.com and click on “Learn Your Risk Of Heart Attack” for more information.)
• Include physical activity in your daily routine.
• Eat a healthy diet rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, fiber, and fish. Cut back on foods high in saturated fat and sodium.
• Avoid alcohol.
• Manage stress.

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in men with lung, colorectal, and prostate cancer leading the list. Smoking, including breathing secondhand smoke, is the cause of nine out of 10 deaths from lung cancer. If you smoke, a proactive approach to quitting is a key step to preventing this cancer. Colonoscopy, an essential health test for men (and women) over the age of 50, is the first course of action to prevent colorectal cancer — especially if you experience:
• Blood in the stool;
• Narrower stools;
• Change in bowel habits;
• General stomach discomfort.

Proactive prostate cancer prevention includes screenings to measure levels of a substance called prostate specific antigen (PSA), which is often high in men with prostate cancer. Symptoms of prostate disease include:
• Problems passing urine, such as pain, difficulty starting or stopping the stream, or dribbling
• Low back pain
• Pain with ejaculation

You may be surprised to learn that unintentional injuries are the third leading cause of death in men including those from motor vehicle crashes, falls, and poisoning. Common sense precautions include:
• Wear a seat belt and follow the speed limit when driving.
• Don’t drive if sleepy or under the influence of alcohol or any other substances.
• Use chemicals only in ventilated areas.
• Be proactive anytime you are at risk for a fall by using care with ladders, putting non-skid mats in showers, and, if your balance and coordination are not terrific, removing area rugs from your home.

I love the men in my life and the life in my male friends. The hiking, cycling, healthy meals, and stirring discussions we share are, to me, what makes life go round. I know I’ll live well and longer thanks to their good company. So, here’s to gender equality when it comes to healthy living — including a proactive approach to men’s health and more magazines to support these behaviors.