National Men's Health Week – Encouraging All Men To Get Moving!
As previously reported in Unionsafety website, the co-ord have previously supported Men's Health Week and this year the co-ord's Chair, Derak Maylor, will be attending the launch of the Men’s Health Week 2010 – A Question of Health.
This year, the annual National Men's Health Week (14-20 June 2010), organised by the Men's Health Forum, will encourage men and boys to be more physically active. Men’s Health Week will focus particularly on men aged over 35yrs old.
The Men's Health Forum will also use National Men's Health Week to highlight low levels of physical activity among males from ethnic groups in England. Compared to the general male population, Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Chinese men are less likely than the general population to meet physical activity recommendations – a 30-minute moderate or vigorous activity session on at least five days a week (1). Fewer than 40% Black Caribbean and Black African men meet this recommendation.
Dr Ian Banks, President, Men’s Health Forum said: “After the age of about 35, there's a sharp decline in the amount of physical activity men undertake and most cite pressure of work, stress, divorce and children as the causes. However, physical activity has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety as well as decreasing the risk of cancer, heart disease and diabetes and can even improve sexual performance.
“Men's Health Week 2010 will highlight the many ways of staying healthy, even for people who claim to be 'too busy to exercise'. The week is not just about encouraging more men to take part in sport – there are many other ways of staying healthy. Simple things such as using stairs instead of the lift, getting off the bus one stop earlier and walking the rest of the way, cleaning the car by hand rather than going to the car wash and so on.”
Derek Maylor who will be attending the national launch of this year's National Men's Health Week said:
"Traditionally women have always been more pro-active when it comes to their health and have been campaiging for many years with regard to female cancers in particular. Unfortunately men have always neglected their health issues, partly because of our macho society which still presurises men into thinking it is weak to address their own health and to just simply 'get on with it!' ignoring symptoms of illness, which in the case of testicular cancer, needlessly claims the lives
of some 70 men per year according to figures for 2008."
Derek concluded by saying:
"Men in the UK need to address this imbalance between the sexes when it comes to looking after our health, and campaigns such as National Men's Health Week seek to do precisely that. We should support this campagin both locally and nationally. The Co-ord is following the lead from CWU HQ who have for many years, highlighted to all CWU Branches the serious need to change male culture in the UK and encrouage all men to take their health seriously.
Hopefully the campaign this year will increase awareness throughout society."
To find out more and register for National Men's Health Week all men should visit the Men's Health website here
See also the Events page of this website.
Source: Men's Health
