Men’s Health week commencing 12th June is designed to highlight the physical and mental health issues that men face, and use this focus to provide help and advice. The 2023 theme is ‘Men’s Health and the Internet’, which highlights the benefits of being able to access online support, but also the concerns that arise from possible internet or phone addiction.
The internet can be a great source of help and information for men, as well as being able to access online health services. There are also active benefits, which many of us experienced during lockdown, in terms of the wide range of videos and guides on how to keep fit and healthy from home. For anyone who may suffer from loneliness or depression and finds it difficult to leave the house, having a fitness instructor come to you via the internet can be a great source of motivation to keep up your daily movement.
In terms of men’s physical health, NHS data has been able to uncover that 67% of men are overweight which could lead to further issues especially with their heart or the increasing risk of diabetes. Checking in with one’s own physical health is extremely important to reduce the risk of future health issues and the NHS recommend that men perform their own MOT on themselves. This involves checking your vitals, like your pulse, your weight and your mindset to understand what you might need to do to improve.
A great way for men to be encouraged to get active is through team activities. Studies have shown that the benefits of men joining team activities such a football, rugby or cricket, not only increases their weekly movement, but also enables them to join a support network that can assist them in their health journey, whether that be to improve fitness or boost mental wellbeing. Teams can be an amazing form of motivation because you’re all working together, and the social element can allow for important conversations after the activity.
Conversations surrounding men’s mental health are extremely important as the data shows 76% of suicides in the United Kingdom were of men. Highlighting the different mental health issues that men could be experiencing is so important and being able to offer support and guidance can help reduce this statistic in the future.
Physical activity is a great outlet for improving mental wellbeing as it can increase the production of hormones such as serotonin and dopamine, which will improve mood and self-esteem. Planning ahead and making time for movement is important because finding time to get outside and get active could see many benefits.
Our Find Your Active campaign can assist anyone in finding an activity that’s right for you, and our activity finder will allow you to search for local opportunities! Find Your Active encourages everyone to increase their daily movement whether that be accompanied by a group or individually, and we have a number of online resources and videos available across our channels for people to access.
We would like everyone to utilise Men’s Health Week and find what works best for them to get more active and find support if needed.
Search your local area to see if there’s an activity near you: https://www.activeessex.org/activity-finder/
Also, try to CANDO challenge to improve physical and mental health: https://www.nhsprofessionals.nhs.uk/health-and-wellbeing/helpful-links/mens-health-week
