Search form

×
Your shopping cart is empty.

Movember: More To It Than Growing a Moustache

  • Home
  • /
  • Movember: More To It Than Growing a Moustache

Movember: More To It Than Growing a Moustache

By
Jeremy Trotman
on 14 Oct 2014 1:42 AM
Blog Category: Health Blog

It’s not long until November which means Movember is about to kick off. Movember is more than just about men growing moustaches. It’s about raising the awareness of men’s health issues and giving men the opportunities and confidence to learn about taking action to improve their health. So, why the fuss about men’s health?

 

Well - the evidence is quite stark. Did you know that:

  • A male’s life expectancy is nearly 5 years less than a female’s
  • The rate of suicide for men is 3 ½ times higher than women
  • Men tend to be more overweight than women, even though women naturally store higher levels of fat (women 25-31% body fat, males 18-24% body fat)

 

Some other facts worth having a think about include:

  • 95% of men don’t consume sufficient fruit and vegetables
  • 86% are overweight
  • 60% don’t exercise sufficiently
  • Each year there are approximately 20,000 new cases of prostate cancer (PA Research Foundation).

 

Do you work in the blue collar industry?

Over 600,000 workers took part in Work Safe Victoria’s free Health Checks. Although the results are for both males and females, they are relevant, highly accurate and recent.

They reveal that blue collar workers are more likely to have high blood pressure, drink at risky levels, and have a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes and heart disease than their white collar counterparts.

The report also found that, when compared to white collar workers, blue collar workers were:
  • More than twice as likely to smoke (29% vs 13%)
  • More likely to drink alcohol at risky levels (49% vs 37%)
  • More likely to have high blood pressure (30% vs 24%)
  • More likely to have a high risk of type 2 diabetes (31% vs 21%)
  • More than twice as likely to have a high risk of heart disease (7% vs 3%)

It is vital that men working in the blue collar industry take care of themselves and their health as they use their body in a much more physically demanding way than white collar workers in most cases.

From an employer’s point of view, targeting health in the workplace can be extremely effective as people spend a large proportion of their life at work. A meta-evaluation study of workplace health promotion programs showed that return on investment was $5.81 for every $1 invested (Chapman, 2005). Health and wellness programs, with careful planning and tailored health solutions, can show even better results than this.

Some solutions that are offered onsite to prevent and manage men’s health issues include:

-Blood pressure checks -Nutrition seminars
-Audiometric testing -Group Exercise
-Cholesterol checks -Health expos and awareness campaigns
-Diabetes checks (blood glucose levels) -Mental health screening
-Waistline and Obesity checks -Injury assessments

A simple health initiative like adding a warm up before work can make a huge difference in reducing injury rates, boosting morale and increasing both motivation and productivity.

Absenteeism due to health issues is costing Australia $28 billion in lost productivity and working time. Can your workplace afford not to invest in the health of your employees?

Find out more about the many health and wellbeing solutions available by contacting JTA Health on 1 300 856 282

 

References

PA Foundation, extracted from http://mandate.org.au/menshealthinformation.html 01/10/2014.
 
Chapman, LS 2005, ‘Meta-evaluation of worksite health promotion economic return studies: 2005 update’, American Journal of Health
 
Promotion, vol. 19, no. 6, pp. 1-11.
 
WorkSafe Vic – Monash Work Health Checks link, extracted from http://www.ihraustralia.net/news-and-opinion/blue-collar-workers-not-in-the-pinkest-of-health-latest-workhealth-checks 01/10/2014

Share this page