I’m a 56 year old, white male. I’m pretty fit (I run regularly), have a good BMI, don’t eat too much high fat stuff (although probably do drink a little more alcohol than I should at times), and have never smoked.  Yeah, I know that my cholesterol and blood pressure are a bit on the high side, and I have mild asthma, and I do have to deal with a bit of day to day stress. And I did rip my suit pants the other day when I bent over and had to go up a size when I replaced them. But, hey, I feel pretty healthy most of the time and can still knock out a 20min 5k run if I put my mind to it. So all good right? 

Well…maybe; maybe not. 

What’s my Health Score

I just did the What’s My Score test on the Men’s Health Week website and the result: “It may be time to tighten up a bit on your health routines... It is important that you book in for an annual men’s health check and discuss all age appropriate health risks and tests with your GP.”  

Do I actually have a health routine?

Tighten up my health routines? Do I have a health routine to tighten? I tend to squeeze my running in around other commitments, and my healthy eating is a bit disrupted by travel I need to do for work. Did I have any fruit today…or yesterday? Hmmm. 

When did I last go to the GP for a non-illness related health check-up? Certainly not in the last year. Last two years? Hmmm. 

Health risks men over 50 shouldn’t ignore

What are my “age-appropriate risks”? According to Dr Google, at age 56 cardiovascular disease risk accelerates, cancer incidence (especially bowel and prostate) rises sharply and metabolic conditions like diabetes and hypertension become “clinically evident.”  Hmmm. Mental note: don’t do that Google search again! 

Why do men delay looking after their health?

Here’s the rub… 

I work in Health Insurance. I know that health is your most important asset. I see first-hand the claims we pay for conditions which, in some cases, are preventable or at least could have been identified earlier. I know the importance of taking preventive steps to stay healthy. And despite all that, I fall into the exact profile that Men’s Health Week is targeting. Men who don’t do enough to prioritise keeping themselves healthy.  And that’s the keyword: prioritise. We are all busy, we all have lots of things to manage on a daily basis – but are we men prioritising looking after our most important asset?  Which is why, for one week in June each year, Men’s Health Week gets to remind us of the small things we should be doing to keep on top of our health.  

One simple step that could make a difference

Here’s the sobering fact: one in four New Zealand men will die before they reach retirement age.  That‘s just 9 years away for me. I don’t want to be on the wrong side of that statistic. On my to-do list for today: talk to my GP about checking my blood pressure, cholesterol, and overall health. And remember, as a UniMed member, you can get reliable medical advice from the comfort of your own home with a virtual GP appointment.