How healthy are we? The answers might surprise you.
Esquire just published the “Scientific Survey of Men and Their Health” in their latest issue. They polled 519 random American men through an online survey and asked questions about things like waist size, doctor visits, and cholesterol tests. The margin of error is plus-or-minus 4 percent.
We’ve vetted the stats and picked out some of the most interesting points. Go read the whole thing here.
Fitness:
- More than half of American men weigh over 180 pounds (For context, over 60 percent of men are 5-foot-10 or taller).
- Three in four men think they have either good or excellent health.
- 77 percent of men can touch their toes.
- 91 percent of men can see their penis when they’re standing.
- 70 percent of men think they could benefit to lose at least five pounds (21 percent think they could lose more than 21 pounds).
- 80 percent of men don’t know their BMI (In case you’re one, it’s Body Mass Index, which helps determine your relative fatness and your risk of weight-related problems).
- 36 percent of men exercise less than once a week.
Doctors and Exams
- 45 percent of men don’t have a doctor they see regularly.
- 43 percent of men haven’t had a checkup within the last year or just don’t remember their last checkup.
- 40 percent of men, ages 41 to 50, haven’t had a simple cholesterol exam.
- 35 percent of men don’t go to their physician for medical advice. Instead they use the Internet, friends, and books.
What Goes in
- 50 percent of men take vitamins.
- 77 percent of men eat better now than they did 10 years ago.
- 62 percent of men eat fast food at least once a week.
- 34 percent of men smoke cigarettes (90 percent of which smoke at least five cigarettes a day).
- 14 percent of men smoke marijuana (56 percent of which smoke at least once a day).
- 41 percent of men drink alcohol at least once a day (25 percent worry about how much they drink).
Sex and Bed
- 60 percent of men masturbate at least once a week.
- 61 percent of men sleep between five and seven hours.
- 53 percent of men have sex at least once a week (Over 20 percent have sex once a year or less).
- 14 percent of men have been treated for an STD.
The Future
- Men are most frightened by cancer (compared to heart attacks, HIV, erectile dysfunction, Alzheimer’s and getting struck by lightning).
- 42 percent of men worry about living to see graduations and weddings.
- 34 percent of men don’t want to live to be 100.
- 77 percent of men would want to be taken off life support.
—Photo Beverly & Pack/Flickr