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It’s common for men to ignore minor health issues and fail to prioritize their health. Living a healthy lifestyle and keeping up with medical conditions is important to stay healthy, reduce health care costs, and cut back on insurance costs.
Medical history and current lifestyle details are important considerations when getting term life insurance coverage. Term life insurance quotes can vary based on gender, age, medical history, habits, and occupation. Taking control and managing your health can ensure you get the best quotes and coverage for term life insurance.
When it comes to physical health, the top leading causes of death in adult men in the United States are heart disease, cancer, diabetes, stroke, unintentional injuries, and respiratory issues. The risk for these chronic conditions can be lessened by making healthy lifestyle choices.
Get Regular Medical Check-Ups
Men are more likely to skip or delay regular visits with medical professionals. Keeping up with health care visits is important for catching issues earlier and taking a proactive approach to your health.
You should be getting a yearly physical examination. Health care providers will always check your blood pressure, and any issues with hypertension can be caught early if you are keeping up with your yearly visits.
High blood pressure (hypertension) is a silent killer and affects some races and ethnic groups disproportionately. High blood pressure is directly linked with heart disease, the leading cause of death among all Americans. Lifestyle changes or medication management can help keep blood pressure in a healthy range.
You should also have your blood cholesterol checked at least annually. Eating a heart-healthy diet, cutting back on alcohol, being active, and medication management can help manage high blood cholesterol levels.
Diabetes is also a health condition without evident symptoms at first. These high blood sugar levels can damage other tissues in the body and can cause serious complications if left untreated.
Prostate cancer is more treatable if it is caught early on, so keep up with those visits. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men, following skin cancer. There is some controversy on if screening is necessary for all men, so make sure you see your healthcare provider and get their professional advice.
You should also be seeing other specialists regularly or at least once a year. You should have regular dental, vision, dermatologists, or any other specialists that may be recommended for specific health conditions. Men over 50 have a higher risk of developing skin cancer compared to women, so yearly skin checks by a dermatologist are important.
Stay Physically Active
The importance of regular physical activity and exercise cannot be underestimated. Incorporating a few hours of exercise each week is worth the return on your investment.
Sometimes it can be easy to put our fitness and exercise routine on hold when we are busy at work or with the family. Physical activity levels tend to decline when major changes happen in life like marriage, divorce, having children, retiring, and losing a spouse.
Exercise boosts health, prevents many chronic diseases, and relieves stress. Exercise also has cognitive benefits. Exercise boosts heart health, lowers the risk for diabetes, helps manage stress, helps improve mental health, improves sleep, and increases energy levels.
Manage or Lose Weight
Maintaining a healthy weight helps you feel energized and lower your risk for many chronic diseases, like heart disease and diabetes.
Weight management comes down to diet and exercise. It can be more difficult to manage weight as we get older because our metabolism slows and we tend to lose muscle mass, but maintaining a healthy weight is important at any age.
Body Mass Index is not a perfect measure of a healthy weight, but it is one tool. It is easy, inexpensive, and can give you a baseline to compare. Other measures like skinfold calipers, bioelectrical impedance analysis, and DEXA are more expensive but also more accurate in estimating percent body fat.
Men should aim for a percent body fat below 24% to stay in the healthy or athletic category.
Waist circumference can also be a clue as to your level of risk for chronic disease. A waist circumference above 40 for men can put you at higher risk for chronic health conditions like diabetes and heart disease.
Eat the Rainbow
Fruits and vegetables are great sources of fiber, which can lower cholesterol, prevent colorectal cancer, and help with weight management. The various colors of fruits and vegetables represent different phytonutrients, which are components or nutrients in plant foods that boost health.
Men have a higher risk of heart disease until around age 50, but eating a heart-healthy diet is important at any age. A heart-healthy diet is also helpful in lowering the risk of stroke. Heart-healthy foods include fish, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, olive oil, nuts, seeds, and beans.
The Mediterranean diet and DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) are both examples of heart-healthy eating plans. Both focus on plant-based foods, healthy fats like olive oil and avocados, low-sodium foods, and limited meats, sweets, and solid fats.
Cut Back on Alcohol and Eliminate Tobacco
Men are more likely than women to consume alcohol and use tobacco products. Quitting smoking reduces the risk of lung cancer, which is the number one deadly cancer for men. Lung cancer spreads quickly, and by the time it is detected, it is difficult to treat and cure.
Alcohol does have some mild health benefits for adults, so keep consumption to no more than two drinks per day. Alcohol can boost heart health, so a glass of wine or beer with dinner can be beneficial.
Make Mental Health a Priority
Mental health is just as important as physical health when it comes to overall health and wellness. Men can easily ignore or minimize mental health issues like depression or anxiety.
Counseling, therapy, spiritual practices, self-reflective, journaling, and medication can all be useful when struggling with mental health issues.
There is a stigma around mental health issues in that men are weak or giving up if they reach out for counseling or therapy. These concerns can affect quality of life and become serious if not treated. The benefits of counseling and therapy should not be minimized and are useful in improving the mental health of anyone.
Suicide is a leading cause of death among men, so you should make mental health a priority in your life. Men should never be afraid to reach out or ask for help.
Drive Safely
Motor vehicle accidents are another leading cause of death in adult men. Wear your seat belt and avoid driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Do not be a risky or reckless driver, as that increases your chances of being in a car accident.
Prioritize Your Health
Healthy eating, physical activity, safe driving, taking care of mental health, cutting out tobacco, and keeping up with regular medical check-ups can help keep men of all ages healthy.
Prioritizing your health is important to stay healthy and energized for your family, work, and hobbies.
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This content is sponsored by Anne Davis.
Photo: Shutterstock
