Gentlemen, and women who care about their gentlemen, this week is National Men’s Health Week! Celebrated each year during the week leading up to and including Father’s Day, National Men’s Health Week aims to heighten the awareness of preventable health problems and encourage early detection and treatment of disease among men and boys.  

 According to data obtained from the National Men’s Health Week website, in 1920 women lived, on average, one year longer than men. Men have experienced a drastic change in fortune since then. Today, men die almost six years earlier than women. Data also shows that men die at higher rates than women from the top 10 causes of death,  and are victims of over 92% of workplace deaths.

Despite these daunting statistics, men are not a lost cause. The Center for Disease Control outlines several habits that will make it easier for men to live long, healthy, and productive lives.  For instance:

Get Sufficient Sleep

Insufficient sleep can be linked to a number of chronic diseases and conditions, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and depression. Also, insufficient sleep is responsible for motor vehicle and machinery-related accidents, causing substantial injury and disability each year.

Just Say No to Tobacco

Smoking increases the risk of heart-disease, lung disease, and other smoking related illnesses.  

Get Off the Couch

Adults need at least 2½ hours of moderate-intensity aerobic activity (such as brisk walking) every week, and muscle strengthening activities that work all major muscle groups on two or more days a week. If you have not worked out in a while, or if you don’t have time to make it to the gym, start out by doing push-ups at home and shun all elevators in favor of steps. 

Eat Healthy

Your body will thank you for skipping that scrambled egg and cheese at breakfast in favor of oatmeal. For lunch try a turkey burger instead of that bacon cheeseburger at the local grill, and when you get a craving for a sugary snack try a bowl of fruit.

Be Proactive

See your doctor for regular check-ups. There are plenty diseases and conditions that do not have symptoms, and check-ups can diagnose a condition before it becomes a problem.  Unfortunately, women are more likely than men to schedule an annual exam.   Help reverse that trend by visiting a local Community Health Center for a check-up.   Health centers can provide affordable primary and preventative health care services all under one roof and help prevent or control chronic illnesses that can become serious, for instance diabetes and hypertension.   In fact, in 2011 (the most recent data available) health centers saw over two million patients with hypertension and over one million with diabetes — just over 41 percent of their patients are male. 

To find a health center in your area please visit this link.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two Community Health Centers are promoting a healthier lifestyle among their patients by providing more access to fresh produce.  By partnering with non-profits that work with local farmers, health centers in California and Illinois are educating patients about healthy eating.

For the South Los Angeles community that St. John’s Well Child and Family Center serves, affordability and access to fresh produce can be roadblocks on the path to healthy eating. According to an article in the Los Angeles Times, “about 70% of St. John’s adult patients are obese or overweight and only 11% of adults eat the daily recommended fruits and vegetables.”  

To help their patients access healthier foods, St. John’s works with a nonprofit to run a produce stand at two of its sites.  St. John’s providers even write “prescriptions” for fresh produce to drive home the importance of a healthy diet. 

This month the Austin neighborhood PCC Community Wellness Center will open their 3^rd Annual Austin Produce Market. Recognizing the need to make up for the neighborhood’s food desert, PCC works with a Chicago nonprofit to offer affordable, local, organic produce to the community. Not only do they offer the community an option for fresh produce, but the PCC AmeriCorps volunteers also provide recipes and healthy eating information while staffing the market. The market runs every Friday from June to August and creates a weekly event in which PCC patients and neighborhood community members can learn more about living a healthier lifestyle.

June is here and with it sunshine, warm weather, and graduations but the month is also the beginning of hurricane season. From June to November our coastal cities and towns brace themselves every time someone says tropical storm—particularly since our recent memories are filled with the destructive footprints of Katrina, Rita and Sandy. But if history has taught us anything it’s that the lack of hurricane awareness and preparation are common among all major hurricane disasters.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season will be an active to extremely active season. They are predicting 13 to 20 named tropical cyclones and between seven to 11 hurricanes (storms with sustained winds of at least 74 mph) and of those three to six may become major hurricanes. NOAA urges people to understand it only takes one storm to make it a bad season.

This is why preparation is needed especially if you live on the coast—in 2010 39 percent of the U.S. population lived in counties directly on the shoreline. Recently many local Community Health Centers, have been posting on social media about the steps you can take to prepare for a hurricane. NOAA has also created a preparedness guide, and a website with informative videos and posters. Another great resource for information is the Ready.gov website. There you will find information about hurricanes, and what to do before, during and after one.

A few tips for health centers include:

• Review your plan now to make sure the contact information is up to date and reflects any significant organizational changes
• Touch base with your community partners if you haven’t seen or talked to them in awhile
• Make sure your staff knows what you expect them to do to help your health center continue to provide health care if a hurricane or other disaster occurs
• Encourage your staff and patients to develop/update their own personal preparedness plan

Remember, preparation and common sense are your best tools to stay safe in a hurricane.