Canadian men like to pride themselves as pretty healthy guys, but the reality is actually kind of scary.
As the second annual Canadian Men’s Health Week kicks off June 1521, the Canadian Men’s Health Foundation is urging men to make simple changes that can prevent a lot of health problems down the road.
Statistics around men’s health in Canada are disturbing: Men account for 82% of alcohol related deaths in the country and are 79% more likely to die from heart disease. Canadian men spend an average of nine years living in ‘extremely poor’ health, and are leaving their loved ones behind all too soon, with senior aged widows outnumbering senior aged widowers four to one. And it’s not just their own families who are impacted by poor decisions when it comes to men’s health, but the entire national economy: an analysis by the Canadian Men’s Health Foundation looks at the economic cost associated with the poor health choices men are making, and estimates the total financial impact to hover around $36.9billion—in 2013 alone.
The biggest kicker of all is that 70% of men’s health problems can be prevented by adopting passive health habits. Take the stairs instead of the elevator; choose salad instead of fries. Get off the bus one stop earlier. It’s these small, daily commitments that will reshape the landscape of Canadian men’s health, and it’s hard to argue when some of Canada’s top elite athletes are leading the charge, including Simon Whitfield and Olympic gold medallist rower Adam Kreek, who have submitted online video pledges encouraging more Canadian men to get on board with these little changes.
Watch their video pledges at CanadianMensHealthWeek.ca, along with submissions from other inspirational Canadians, and take a simple oneclick health pledge for the chance to win the Ultimate Father’s Day Golf Giveaway: round-trip airfare for two to Toronto, two days of golf complete with a set of brand new Nike Vapor golf clubs, a two night stay at the Hilton Hotel in Markham, Ontario and $1,000 cash!
#MensHealthWeek runs from June 1521. For our fathers, husbands, sons, and friends—when it comes to health, a little goes a long way.
