As we approach Men's Health Week (9 - 15 June 2003), BUPA calls for men to become more health aware and examines a recent survey of MPs' attitudes towards men's health and the reasons why a communications gap might be happening.

The MP survey results show that 95 per cent of respondents felt men's health issues are of equal importance to women's, yet 86 per cent believed it was not covered enough in the UK media. This was reinforced by the result that less than nine per cent of respondents relied on the media to find out information about men's health issues.

Dr Annabel Bentley, BUPA's assistant medical director, looks at a possible cause of the communications gap:

"From an early age,” Bentley says, “boys are told not to make a fuss - be brave and don't be a cry-baby. Men's attitudes towards their health are influenced by these cultural messages, and if as adults they continue 'not to make too much of a fuss' this could prevent them from living a long and healthy life.”

“Many men are currently living their lives according to an adage that could end up doing them more harm than good."

Statistics show that men have a shorter life expectancy than women do. They are also more likely to die from heart disease, cancer, HIV infection, accident and suicide than females, and yet they still take more health risks than members of the opposite sex.

Dr Bentley continues: "Men are less likely to ask for help and are prone to ignoring early symptoms and conditions. Research shows that men often underestimate the importance of early symptoms.”

“In many conditions early diagnosis means a better chance of successful treatment and this is why raising awareness of the issues is so crucial."

The knock-on effects of men's attitudes to their health can be seen in the survey results with 95 per cent of MPs believing that communicating with men about their health needs to become a higher priority.

This result, coupled with a 98 per cent response declaring that men need just as much support and/or guidance about their health as women do, would seem evidence enough that the issues need to be publicised more than is happening at present.

However, as the survey results denote, a different communication strategy needs to be used. Nearly a third of respondents felt that the communication of men's health issues should be handled differently from women's. Men's alleged reticence could be an indication that they feel uncomfortable about addressing and discussing the issues that affect them.

Dr Annabel Bentley said: "Some of the main issues currently affecting men and their health are problems like smoking, excessive alcohol consumption and obesity.”

“All have an impact on cancer and heart disease - the two biggest killers of men in the UK today. Men are clearly at risk and the profile of men's health issues needs to be raised in order to engage people in the serious problems that face the male population."

Half of the respondents felt that cancer was the most important health issue currently facing men, this was closely followed by heart disease (45 per cent). Interestingly, this breakdown reflects the recent figures released by Cancer Research UK stating that cancer has now overtaken heart disease as the number one killer of men in the UK.

"By increasing awareness of the health concerns that affect men today and more importantly by offering advice and guidance on how to combat these problems, we hope to help men recognise and understand the health issues that they may encounter during their life course." Dr Bentley added.

For this reason BUPA's dedicated team of doctors and medical experts have compiled various fact sheets and information pages about men's health that can be accessed from the comfort of their own home.

The series discusses issues specific to men's health; everything from shaving rash to prostate problems. The fact sheets can be found at http://www.bupa.co.uk/men