Men's health in the spotlight

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

Suicide among men in Britain accounts for 100,000 years of life lost ,which is more than three times as many as prostate cancer.
Men's health has long been neglected and there are some real causes for concern today, according to Peter Baker, the Chief Executive of the Men's Health Forum in the UK. For instance, suicide is still the leading cause of death among young men, despite some recent slight improvements. Around 100,000 lost years of life among British men can be attributed to suicide, compared to around 30,000 for prostate cancer. The latter gets far more publicity and attracts more concern among men themselves.

Men are also more likely to overweight or obese than women, yet are massively under-represented in primary care weight management programs. Men are also twice as likely as women to develop one of the ten most common cancers that affect both men and women. There are also serious inequalities throughout the country when it comes to life expectancy. On average, a man born in Britain today can expect to live to the age of 77, but in parts of Glasgow, life expectancy is only 63 years - about the same as in China. Still, there are signs of improvement - for men's health is now being pushed up the agenda in an increasing number of organizations with an involvement in health care.

Source
Men's Health Forum 9th March 2006

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