Why Men Should Pay More Attention to Their Health

When it comes to going green, men are more invested in making eco-friendly changes with their vehicles than with their health. The importance of health seems like it should be self-evident, but convincing men to change unhealthy habits is tough.

Life insurance providers use health factors like obesity in crafting their policies. Life insurance for overweight individuals may be readily available, but being overweight often leads to other health conditions that limit those insurance options.

Unfortunately, men are statistically less likely to take care of their health than women. Here’s why men should pay more attention to their health and what they can do to improve it.

Studies show that men are less likely to initiate healthy living habits than women. Here’s why men should pay more attention to their health and what they can do to improve it.

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Men Are Worse Than Women at Taking Care of Themselves

Studies show over and over that men are less likely to initiate healthy living habits in their lives than women. Men suffer from more chronic illnesses than women, and men acquire these health conditions at a younger age than women. Men avoid preventative care.

Healthcare providers target their advertising to women because women are statistically the ones making health decisions for themselves as well as for those around them. Not only do men tend to have more significant health concerns, but they also neglect making decisions about them.

Obesity affects 75% of men over the age of 40. The majority of you reading this will face the reality of being overweight within your lifetime. Many theories attempt to explain this apparent lack of concern men have for their health: denial, perceived self-worth, anger, self-justification. Whatever the excuses, it’s time for men to take charge of their health.

While there are many factors that reinforce men’s tendency to neglect their health, don’t let your own health be a dead end. Change is possible. Men, you need to be intentional with your health management; it’s not going to take care of itself.

Healthy Living Extends Lifespan

Much has been made of “going green,” and for good reason. Awareness of your impact on the environment is a healthy mental practice and it influences habits that include food and exercise. So why should this matter to men?

It’s a fact: Healthy living can extend lifespan. Perhaps more importantly, it increases the quality of life in those extra years. Healthy living can start as basic as going green (and we’re not talking about energy efficiency). Eating more greens, growing your own greens, and getting yourself outside among greenery has been proven to improve your quality of life.

But more years don’t necessarily equal happiness. People are increasingly interested in their quality of life in their extra years, not simply prolonging life. And guess what improves your quality of life in later years: eating well, getting outside, and exercising. See a pattern here?

Eat better. Healthy living can start by changing what you eat. Men who eat a healthy diet sleep better, report better energy levels and take fewer sick days.

Get outside. Patients who get outside are reported to have shorter hospital stays, fewer complications, and require fewer painkillers. Older adults who get outside complain less and enjoy better mobility and sleep habits than those stuck indoors.

One way to get outside is by gardening. It gets you outside interacting with nature and exposes you to sunlight. All of that improves your quality of life. Historically, gardening was a male-dominated field. Time to get back to your roots: get out and garden. There are so many new products to facilitate urban gardening if green space poses a problem.

Get going. Walking for a half-hour a day or for one hour three times a week significantly impacts your heart health. Regular cardio exercise can add years to your life and keeps you healthy in those years.

An unhealthy lifestyle affects mental state and quality of life. On the flip side, exercise improves mood and reduces stress.

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Unhealthy Living is Costly

If the benefits of healthy living aren’t motivating enough, men should consider the cost of not taking charge of their health. Costs can be physical or mental, but let’s be honest, the most motivating cost is dollars and cents.

Consider health insurance for obese men. While simply being overweight might not impact your life insurance options, the complications of obesity definitely do. When it comes to health insurance, many providers promote healthy living through monetary rewards. Unfortunately, you could miss out on those bonuses.

Eating out is expensive and usually unhealthy. Finding truly healthy prepared food is difficult, and those slim menu options are usually the ones you skip. When you look at an average weekly household food budget, one night of eating out could equate to the rest of the week’s worth of groceries.

Unhealthy habits lead to low self-esteem, poor sleep, and lack of energy. Yes, unhealthy living impacts the wallet, but it extends to the rest of your life as well. An unhealthy lifestyle absolutely affects mental state and quality of life. On the flip side, exercise improves mood and reduces stress.

Preventive Care Prevents Bigger Problems

Preventive care is exactly what it sounds like: it prevents bigger problems down the road. Don’t underestimate the power of manning up to the small stuff. Men tend to think big picture, so use that vision to see the benefit of your future health.

It happens all too often: A mole that could be removed in an office procedure by a simple appointment with the dermatologist turns into surgery to remove cancer. Skin cancer surgery can be followed by plastic surgery to correct a gaping scar and perhaps rounds of chemotherapy. Make an appointment now to take care of that weird mole before it gets worse.

Letting heart disease go undiagnosed can lead to premature death or complicated surgeries. And it can be difficult, though not impossible, to find life insurance after a heart surgery. The earlier you treat heart disease, the better your chances are to reverse the damage and improve your outcome. Yes, the damage can be reversed, but there is a point when the damage becomes permanent.

Pick one habit that you know is not healthy and focus on swapping it for a green practice. Once you start, you’ll become aware of other gaps in your health journey.

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Don’t Delay: Start Healthy Living Today

Life changes can seem overwhelming, but they start one day at a time. So today, pick one habit that you know is not healthy and focus on swapping it for a green practice. Once you start, you’ll become aware of other gaps in your health journey.

Changing eating habits is doable, plus you benefit from the results quickly. Remember going green can mean literally incorporating more green into your life. Eat more greens, garden, and exercise in nature.

Be a leader to your guys and start conversations about healthy living. Make going green a group effort. Challenge each other to a walking goal. Encourage your family members to take up cardio. Plan rewards for meeting specific challenges.

Still not sure what to do? Schedule a wellness check with primary care. Get that mole checked at the dermatologist.

Don’t wait until you feel like taking charge of your health because chances are that could be too late. Feelings will follow actions. When you start your health journey and enjoy all the benefits of better sleep, more energy, and a positive outlook, you’ll wonder what took you so long to get on board.

About the Author

Maria Hanson writes and researches for the life insurance site, EffortlessInsurance.com. She’s passionate about helping others understand how their health impacts their life insurance and how to optimize their coverage.