Today, our modern lifestyle has us suffering from degenerative and life shortening diseases. Our uninformed, uneducated and deliberate choices are killing us!
Guys, let’s face it, when it comes to going to doctors for preventative care, you are the pits! Sure you have your reasons. “I don’t want someone pointing the obvious out to me,” you say. “It’s a waste of time because I know the doctor is going to tell me to change the way I eat, or to start exercising or stop smoking.” You are convinced that you are not going to make the changes anyway so why bother.
Your female counterparts are doing a much better job of self-care. A national survey found a woman is three times more likely to see a health professional on a regular basis compared to a man. It is a fact that a woman will schedule a doctor appointment more often than a man; yet, men cost our society much more for medical care beyond age 65. All too often men are opting out of preventative care and instead wait until a medical crisis occurs which may include hospitalizations, surgery and rehabilitative services and this can be costly. There goes not only your personal health but also your family’s financial health!
Avoiding doctor’s visits and putting your head in the sand regarding healthy lifestyle choices puts you at greater risk for life altering diseases. Instead of making simple changes to diet and lifestyle you increase the possibility of being diagnosed with one of the top 10 leading causes of disability and death related to lifestyle choices. Ignoring the warning signs of these conditions puts you at risk for undesirable and likely permanent life change for you and your entire family.
Did you know that high blood pressure was a primary or contributing cause of death for more than 360,000 Americans in 2013 – that’s nearly 1,000 deaths each day? The numbers are likely worse today!
Did you know that 79 million people live with pre-diabetes? The numbers are growing with 25 million people in the U.S. already having the disease and 7 million of these do not even realize they have it!
Did you know that a woman has a 38 percent lifetime risk of developing cancer and if you are a man that risk increases to a 45 percent chance in your lifetime?
Did you know that the projected number of people suffering from dementia in 2030 will be 75.6 million people and it is expected to triple by 2050 to 135.5 million people?
What about the cure? If you have heart disease, diabetes, cancer or dementia, don’t you want the cure? Understand this–the cure is not coming! Sick care is BIG business so you will find new treatments, new procedures and new products only.
The best health care is SELF-care. And whether you are a woman or a man let today be the day you choose wisely. Take baby steps to improve your diet and lifestyle. Begin seeing a health care professional routinely so issues can be addressed and warning signs can be identified then maybe you can avoid these diseases all together. Prevention is not a 100 percent guarantee of good health, but small changes in life can help prevent a medical crisis.
A man taking care of his health makes a positive impact on the whole family. Kids look to their parents for examples of how to live. If you live a healthy lifestyle so will your kids.