Women’s health advice best
Why do women outlive men? Well, the joke is, because men want to
die younger than do women. But the real reason seems to be because
men take such poor care of their health that they simply do not live
as long as their women.
This is an amazing worldwide statistic that should encourage men
to do something about their health.
The tragedy extends to our indigenous community. The men die younger
than do the women, but the life expectancy (men 57, women 63) is 20
years less than that of the non-indigenous community.
Before we feel sorry for the men, we need to understand that, as
far as we can tell, their regrettable death statistic is something
they can change. If men did all the right things and looked after
themselves, they would die at the same age as do the women.
This makes the international comparisons more startling, because
the difference is such a universal phenomenon. And therein lies the
question to which health authorities’ answers differ.
The pressure on men to perform at their jobs, and male socialization
that pressures men to brag about their prowess but not look after
themselves, are extremely strong - everywhere. Men will generally
work for long hours as the hunters and gatherers who provide for their
families. But would they visit a doctor if something was wrong? Men
will fight to the death to protect their friends and family, but would
they seek help if they appeared weak or fragile. No.
Even from an early age, a man will only go to a doctor if he has
a woman to get him to check. Men visit doctors when their mothers
take them at the age of six weeks. Their mothers worry about whether
their testicles are in the right place. So, from an early age, men
go to see doctors only on the advice of their women.
Young boys will go to a doctor because, as they go through puberty,
they happen to tell their mothers about something that happened to
them. At male puberty, one-sided breast enlargement is common, as
the testosterone surging through a young boy’s body is broken down
to oestrogen in just enough amounts to enlarge one breast. Imagine
the embarrassment to a boy who suddenly thinks he will become a girl.
His mother takes him to see a doctor and he is reassured.
At this time, they will often come along to talk about acne. An
older boy will seek medical attention because his girlfriend has found
a lump in his testicle, penis or other “embarrassing area”.
Too embarrassed to seek advice on their own, the young men will usually
only get advice when women tell them. This is so much so that the
next time a man is likely to see a doctor is when he is in his 40s
or 50s. By then, he has just had his first heart attack, mental breakdown
or the onset of some other disease.
Then, it is often too late to cure the problem, as the disease process
is well and truly underway. If you ask a man in his 30s why he won’t
see a doctor, he will say he does not need to, he fears a prostate
examination (the insertion of a finger into the rectum to feel the
prostate gland), or he simply does not want to.
That is about as logical as avoiding a car’s overdue service because
it has not yet broken down. Prevention is better than cure; and most
conditions that affect men can be treated early to stop nasty diseases.
This is so much the case that, if men had their check-ups regularly,
one might reasonably expect their life expectancy to match that of
women - well beyond 90.
Advances in medical science have allowed us to diagnose conditions
earlier and treat them more effectively. Australia now, in 2004, has
available new cholesterol tablets which, for the first time, can treat
any high cholesterol. We have blood-pressure tablets that can treat
any hypertension so well that, for sufferers, the risks of heart disease
and stroke can be reduced to the same as those of non-sufferers. Our
medications and treatments are now so good that, in most cases, the
only factor that prevents the defeat of disease is the human one -
particularly men.
Men are often so depressed by the time they do seek help that they
either expect miracles, or give up. This leads to a high risk of suicide
and depression at retirement age - just when the benefit of all of
one’s hard work should bear fruit.
All the evidence indicates that men should look after themselves
far better so they can live longer and happier lives. The worldwide
evidence indicates that men will not get help unless their women guide
them.
Married men live longer than single men, despite all the jokes on
the subject. So men should either seek help themselves, or take the
advice of the women in their lives. An extra seven years of life could
be fun - if you are healthy.
Life expectancy
| Men |
|
Women |
|
| Australia |
77.9 |
Australia |
83.0 |
| Japan |
78.4 |
Japan |
85.2 |
| Switzerland |
77.7 |
Switzerland |
83.4 |
| Sweden |
78.1 |
Sweden |
82.7 |
| Israel |
77.4 |
Spain |
83.0 |
