On International Men’s Day — and every single day — here’s five simple things all men can do to ensure healthier, better lives.
Have regular check-ups
Even if you feel healthy, regular health checks like blood pressure, blood sugar levels and prostate checks are essential to catch any problems early and stay in good health.
Your mental health is just as important. Seeking help for mental health issues, including depression and anxiety, can be critical.
Reduce alcohol use
The harmful use of alcohol killed nearly 3 million people in 2016; 75% of whom were men.
Drinking too much, or too often, increases your immediate risk of injury, road crashes and violence.
It can also cause longer-term effects like liver damage, cancer and heart disease.
Harmful use of alcohol can affect your mental health and has a negative impact on your family and the people around you.
Quit smoking
Tobacco use causes cancer, lung disease, heart disease and stroke, killing more than 7 million people every year.
It also causes impotence.
Quitting smoking is one of the best things you can do for your health.
Within 2-12 weeks, your lung function improves. Within a year, your risk of heart disease is already half that of a smoker’s.
Eat better
Eating a healthy diet helps prevent diabetes and many other diseases.
Try to eat more fruit, vegetables, legumes (e.g. lentils), nuts and whole grains.
Limit the amount of salt to 1 teaspoon per day, sugar to less than 5% of total energy intake and saturated fats to less than 10% of your energy intake.
Be more active
1 in 4 people isn’t active enough.
Adults should do at least 2.5 hours of moderate-intensity physical activity a week.
Physical activity helps you maintain a healthy weight, reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer and can help beat depression too.
