Supporting Movember - Changing the face of men’s health

Supporting Movember - Changing the face of men’s health

New Zealanders are known for having a number 8 fencing wire attitude, and while this has it’s advantages on the farm, when it comes to health and wellness of our men, it’s no longer good enough to say ‘he’ll be right’.

More sensible is education about common diseases that affect the health of men and practical advice to maintain a healthy lifestyle. We need to get the message out that this is a conversation worth having.

November is ‘Movember’ – a men’s health awareness month and a timely reminder that men’s health, while not as much in the headlines as women’s health issues, is just as important.

Many lifestyle diseases that effect men are preventable by lifestyle choices; prostate and bowel cancer are great examples of this.

• Over 600 New Zealand men die from prostate cancer each year.
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• One in ten New Zealand men will develop the disease in their lifetime.
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• Bowel cancer is one of the most common cancers among New Zealand men.
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• Around 1,500 men are diagnosed with bowel cancer each year.
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Many of these deaths could be prevented by early detection and healthy lifestyle choices such as regular exercise, and healthy food choices.

While most cases of prostate cancer occur in men aged over 65, and most bowel cancer occurs in people over 50, prevention based lifestyle habits need to be in place well before this age. This means talking about and taking care of men’s health issues now, for long-term benefits well into the future.

Awareness of prostate cancer, bowel cancer and other diseases that effect men is important. This is why we need to support awareness campaigns such as Movember, and also start conversations about men’s health.

Exercise is known to be one of those ‘silver bullet’ tools to lower the risk of so many preventable illnesses. The exercise industry has much to offer as part of this prevention strategy. Exercise professionals are on the frontline, offering health solutions to the hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders who use exercise professionals like personal trainers, and many hundreds of thousands more through industry lead initiatives and education.

NZ Register of Exercise Professionals (REPs) registered exercise professionals have the skills and knowledge to be the proverbial fence at the top of the cliff, and are leading the way in role modelling healthy behaviours for long-term gain.

Auckland based REPs Registered Personal Trainer, owner of Imagine Fitness, and father to a one year old son, James Davies sees the personal benefits of health, not just for himself, but the others in his life. "I exercise and stay healthy not just for me, but for the important people in my life. I go for a regular check up and don't hesitate to see the doctor if I have any concerns about my health. As well as myself, I have someone else to look after who I want to see grow up."

Men’s health is a subject worth talking about, and also worth taking action on. REPs Registered Professionals can get you set up with the right advice on how to stay healthy through regular exercise and activity.

To find a REPs Registered Exercise Professional in your area, just go online towww.reps.org.nz.

http://www.getthetools.org.nz
http://nz.movember.com

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