HEALTH & FAMILY

A FEW SIMPLE CHECKS WILL KEEP YOUR MAN ON TRACK

This Father’s Day, encourage your dad, or the father of your kids, to:

IMPROVE HIS POSTURE

Men tend not to think about their posture very much but good posture is as crucial to them as it is to women.

Hunching over their computer keyboard or slumping on the sofa can contribute to neck and back problems that may end up causing severe pain.

Often they don’t realise when their posture is bad, so you may need to give them reminders. Pilates and yoga will help, as can treatments such as the Alexander Technique, which helps to improve greater body awareness.

Other things that contribute to back pain include lifting incorrectly. Remind him to bend from the knees when picking up heavy objects.

WEAR SUNSCREEN

Studies have found that men are less likely than women to use sunscreen. They do remember when they’re going out on the boat or playing a round of golf, but often they’ll forget if they are pottering around the garden or taking the dog for a walk.

Get them into the habit of putting sunscreen on whenever they are going outside. Have a bottle of sunscreen with a pump dispenser by the door or where they leave their car keys to remind them to be sun safe. Also, see if you can get them to wear a hat, especially if they are bald or have thinning hair. About 13 people are diagnosed with melanoma each day in New Zealand and more than 300 die of it each year. Death rates are higher among men and appear to be increasing. Other types of skin cancer, such as basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas, can be disfiguring and, in rare cases, fatal.

GET RID OF THE BEER BELLY

Some men are resigned to having a beer gut and seem to think it’s not a problem unless they are overweight or obese. But there are a number of health risks associated with having excess stomach fat, even if they’re not carrying extra weight on other parts of their body. It increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, sleep apnoea, colorectal cancer, high blood pressure and premature death from any cause.

Excessive belly fat can also lead to erectile dysfunction because it can interfere with the body’s ability to supply blood to the penis. It may also put men at greater risk of breast cancer because the fat produces an enzyme that converts testosterone to oestrogen, and this hormone can feed breast cancer cells. Of course a beer belly isn’t just caused by beer and to get rid of it they need to do the same things they would generally – eating a healthy diet with plenty of vegetables, fruits, wholegrains and healthy fats, and being physically active.