Weight lies at the heart of Men’s Health

June 13, 2012 in Diet, Exercise, Fitness, Nutrition, Overweight, Weight loss

With over 5.5 millions Australian men aged 18+ categorised as overweight or obese (60%), Men’s Health Week (June 11-17) provides a time to reflect on how this impacts men’s health.

Overweight men (classified by Body Mass Index) are more likely than those with an acceptable weight to suffer many health problems including bones, joints and muscle problems (22% more likely); lungs and breathing (25% more likely); digestive system (32% more likely); heart and circulation (86% more likely) and; brain and nervous system problems (35% more likely). These are the latest findings from the Roy Morgan Single Source survey.

Although Australian men generally report feeling well and in good health, men of an unhealthy weight are less likely (9% less) than men of acceptable weight to feel ‘well and in good health’. The majority of overweight men (74%) agree they would ‘like to be able to lose weight’ as do 27% of men who are a healthy weight. Men of unhealthy weight are also less likely to ‘love doing as many sports as possible’ (19% less) and more likely to be concerned about their cholesterol level (37% more).

Norman Morris, Industry Communications Director, Roy Morgan Research, says:

“Maintaining a healthy weight is important, while we’ve highlighted some of the more major issues, we see that across the spectrum overweight and obese men are more likely to suffer most types of health problems.

“It is encouraging to see that men with an unhealthy weight do acknowledge the issue, however it would be encouraging if they were more concerned with low fat diets and exercise as ways of improving their condition.

“Our findings are a clear reminder of the importance of maintaining a healthy weight and active lifestyle in order to reduce the majority of health problems.”

See full article from Roy Morgan Research here.

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