Men should take time to focus on health

Men: Have you been to the doctor lately? Are you eating healthy and exercising? Throughout June — Men’s Health Month — and the rest of the year, ensure you’re doing what you can to stay healthy for years to come.  

Health includes both mental health and physical health, which are connected. 

“In order to be mentally healthy, you have to take care of yourself and be physically fit, eat right,” said Chris Snyder, DO, chief quality officer/physician advisor at TidalHealth.  

In the United States, life expectancy at birth is for 75.8 years for males and 81.1 years for females, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Some reasons for men’s lower expected lifespan include driving crashes, substance abuse and suicide, Dr. Snyder said. According to the CDC, males make up about 80 percent of suicides in the U.S.  

Mental health 

Some men might not seek help because they aren’t able, willing or ready to be vulnerable, said Mannie Jefferson, clinical manager for TidalHealth Behavioral Health’s partial hospitalization programs. There’s also a culture in America of hyper-individualism — trying to solve problems on your own, he said.  

Jefferson recently spoke on the topic at a local men’s shelter, letting men know that it’s OK to share their struggles with others and get help when they need it.   

Jefferson shares the concept of “John Henryism,” conceived by Sherman A. James, Ph.D., with others. As a folk hero, John Henry is seen as an example of a hard-working man — but this hard work also led to his death. Many men have such a strong commitment to work that they don’t want to be seen as lazy or take a day off to see a therapist or doctor, Jefferson said.  

Providers and public health officials can link that desire for competence to being able to ask for help, he said. It’s also important for men to be someone that other men feel comfortable coming to.  

And in addition to being kind to others, people need to be kind to themselves, Jefferson said.  

“That sense of self-compassion goes a long way when it comes to being vulnerable,” he said.  

Doctor’s visits 

Men don’t visit the doctor as much as women. A CDC report looking at health centers found that female patients had a visit rate of 467 per 1,000 people in 2023, while males had a visit rate of 282.1 visits per 1,000 people.  

While it’s good to get somewhat regular checks, healthy males who aren’t overweight in their 20s and even 30s don’t need to go to the doctor every year, Dr. Snyder said. If they are healthy, every three to five years, or perhaps every other year, should be sufficient. However, men at higher risk for health issues or who partake in high-risk behaviors such as partaking in drugs or alcohol or being sedentary should come in more regularly. 

Some concerns that end up leading men to the doctor are impotency, depression, substance or alcohol abuse, injuries and sexually transmitted diseases, he said.  

Other common men’s health issues include obesity, testicular cancer, skin cancer or pre-skin cancer, and psoriasis.  

Women may be more likely to go to the doctor because of menstruation, pregnancy or other women’s health concerns, he said.  

Know family history 

Family history is important when it comes to health, and it can be a blueprint for someone’s future, Dr. Snyder said. For example, if a patient has a parent who had colon cancer, they should be screened earlier than the usual recommendations.  

Prevention is important, too, as health issues don’t appear overnight. For example, a young man who has a parent with diabetes can practice healthier eating habits earlier, so it doesn’t get to become a problem, Dr. Snyder said.   

Want to have an idea of what your health could look like in the future? Look at your parents and grandparents, he said. Open lines of discussion with family members about these topics so you know what to expect.