Men’s Health Week is for ‘Rest of Life’

Men’s Health Week is for ‘Rest of Life’

June 15, 2014

A leading Occupational Therapist is warning men that changing their lifestyle as a result of Men’s Health Week is a “rest of life” commitment.

Men’s Health Week, from June 9-15, encouraged men to adopt seven simple steps and Dr Simon Ryder-Lewis says the messages from the week are crucial and must be maintained during the other 51 weeks of the year.

He says there’s a danger that, while men get fired up during Men’s Health Week, they don’t carry that commitment through in the weeks that follow.

Dr Ryder-Lewis says Men’s Health Week is a springboard to a new and healthier life and they must preserve their new health regime for the rest of their lives.

“Men respond well in peer groups and I would encourage them to link up with other men and be part of a fitness group or get their family involved,” he says.

The first of the “seven simple steps” is to visit a GP and Dr Ryder-Lewis, who specialises in Occupational Medicine, says that, when they do, they should ask for a “prescription for life.”

“When they pick up their doctor’s script they should also leave with information about how to remain healthy for the rest of their life,” he says.

Dr Ryder-Lewis says for Men’s Health Week to be effective and long lasting it should be a two-way thing. While it encourages men to apply the Seven Simple Steps to their lives, it’s an ideal time for GPs to attach valuable medical advice to their scripts.

He calls it “the prescription for life.”

Wellington based Dr Ryder-Lewis is Chief Medical Officer for Accuro Health Insurance and the Men’s Health Week is an important part of the presentation he makes to work places in the Wellington region.

The seven simple steps are:
• Visit a GP
• Measure your blood pressure
• Exercise regularly
• Eat healthily
• Healthy thinking
• Stop smoking
• Maintain healthy relationships.

About Accuro
Accuro Health Insurance is a not-for-profit member organisation that’s been providing medical insurance to New Zealanders for more than 40 years. Accuro is the only health insurer that has consistently grown in membership over the last three years and, for four years in a row, was evaluated by Consumer NZ as providing the best cover for the lowest possible price. Accuro is Latin for “taking care.”

ENDS

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