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Looking after Loved Ones for Men’s Health Week

Looking after Loved Ones for Men’s Health Week

by Lance Walker | CEO, Cigna Life Insurance NZ Ltd.
June 5, 2014

There is nothing in this world more important to me than spending quality time with my family. As a father of three, I can think of no better way to spend a weekend than to be playing with them at the park, going for a bike ride or taking on the next big wave at the beach.

That’s why I believe Men’s Health Week from June 9-15 is so important. It’s about all men taking time for their health to then be able to enjoy a longer and better life with their families, friends and loved ones. This is a key outcome I want to see happen.

Certainly there’ll be potential economic benefits, less time off work, longer and more purposeful lives and less pressure on our public health system.

But, more than anything else, I want to see men feeling good about themselves and enjoying their families.

One of the “Seven Simple Steps to Protect Your Health”, listed on the Men’s Health Week website www.menshealthweek.co.nz, is maintaining healthy relationships. That’s what attracted me to this initiative when I became CEO of Cigna Life Insurance two months ago. I agree that men need to maintain a happy, healthy family life. I want Cigna to have that ethos too – life (and work) is all about people after all.

So one of my first priorities was to endorse Cigna as a sponsor of Men’s Health Week.

For me, Men’s Health Week is not just one week, it’s ongoing and it’s about men finding ways in their everyday life to do something positive for their health. I’ve always enjoyed exercise and a run at lunch time helps me focus better. We are lucky in New Zealand that we can do this – a few steps out of the office door and we are in a beautiful spot: on a waterfront, on a hill, in a reserve.

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So use Men’s Health Week as a way to think about your health seriously. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain, including your health and wellbeing.

The seven steps that Men’s Health Week is encouraging are:
• Visit a GP
• Measure your blood pressure
• Exercise regularly
• Eat healthily
• Healthy thinking
• Stop smoking and
• Maintaining healthy relationships.

When you look at them, each of the seven steps are very achievable. They are all important but I love the first and last. I’ve already talked about the benefits to families but I’d like to emphasise the doctor’s visit too.

There are some men out there who haven’t consulted their GP for 10 years. That’s far too long. Your doctor can check your health and give you a personal warrant of fitness. He or she can also detect if something’s wrong and put you on a regime to recovery. So now is the chance, if you haven’t already, to take ownership of your own health.

‘She’ll be right’ isn’t good enough when you realise that men, on average, live four years less than women and yet are less likely to talk to their doctor about their health. Six out of 10 New Zealand men are also overweight.

In New Zealand, one man dies every three hours of a preventable disease. That’s a tragic statistic and doesn’t need to happen. Men’s Health Week has been established to help reduce those statistics.

At Cigna we’re contacted daily by someone who’s had an adverse medical diagnosis or at the passing of a family member. We are proud of being able to assist people where we can in their time of need.

But equally, Cigna is about wellbeing – about encouraging people to make good life and health decisions. Our LifeOne policy for example recognises lifestyle and offers a healthy living discount.

Within the next 12 to 18 months we will focus more on products which encourage wellness and healthy lives. Men’s Health Week is an essential component of that and we will play a more proactive role in other health initiatives in the months to come.

Cigna already puts a lot of emphasis on staff wellness. We provide fresh fruit, free flu shots and eye checks, and we discount gym membership.

My family and I enjoy fitness and exercise, but, all the same, I’ll be first to work through the seven simple steps to further protect my health next week.

Remember it doesn’t end on June 15. That’s only the beginning.

ENDS

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