By Bob Condor

Earlier this year, the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality published a report that estimates American men are 25 percent less likely than women to visit a doctor for regular check-ups.

The first reaction here at the Daily Health Blog? That number seems low. Way too low.

Figuring most adult women see their gynecologists yearly or maybe every 18 months, it’s no exaggeration that some guys go years without stepping foot into a doctor’s office. You know who you are—or they are. You might be one of the gents or sleep next to one.

And it seems getting older doesn’t change the stats much. Guys in their 50s are just as likely to skip the visit—despite increasing for cardiovascular disease and prostate and colon cancers—than younger men in their 20s, 30s and 40s (who actually are at greater risk for skin cancers that if caught early are easily treatable). As it turns out, about half of all men who go see their doctors are there because their wives/partners made the appointment.

Sound familiar?

So it is no great shock to thumb through an American Diabetes Association report showing that men with Type 2 diabetes—repeat, they have been diagnosed with the disease—know about the primary complications of heart problems, potential blindness and kidney failure but don’t connect their conditions to depression or sexual dysfunction.

And if roughly half of Americans with Type 2 diabetes are undiagnosed, that makes for a lot of men struggling mentally and emotionally without much of a safety net. In fact, it is estimated 12 million U.S. men have Type 2 diabetes.

Both depression and sexual dysfunction can be hard on men who see themselves as the proverbial breadwinners, tough guys, cool customers and, well, you get the idea. Seeing the doctor or feeling blue is not the way most men like to roll, as the saying goes.

Intriguingly, the diabetes association reports that its poll of more than 1,000 adult males found that men didn’t want to talk about diabetes with their physicians and certainly were not eager to discuss depression symptoms or erectile dysfunction issues. But those same guys expressed interest in learning more about those problems and all ways to cope with Type 2 diabetes.

We’ve got just the thing—the new Diabetes report from Barton Publishing. It lays out an easy-to-follow eating plan that men won’t consider punitive or even puny. One hint: Nuts are encouraged. The Barton diabetes reversal plan also provides in-depth on the r

ight exercise program (only a total of one hour for the week will make a huge impact) and natural supplements that can help with all symptoms.

Click here for instant access to the full ED, Diabetes or Depression health reports!

The report, of course, serves women too. And it is none too soon. Public health scholars and health-oriented psychologists will tell you that many people with diabetes don’t know much about what is happening in their bodies. It is estimated about a quarter of the 24 millions Americans with diabetes are undiagnosed. And among those adults who have been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, a significant portion, typically unintentionally, waited about nine to 12 years beyond the optimal time to fend off the disease.

Hmm, know anybody who waits too long to go to the doctor?

Along with 24 million Americans who have Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, the government’s newest figures (2007) estimate that 57 million Americans have prediabetes, a condition that unchecked will lead to a Type 2 diagnosis within 10 years. Doctors might still use the term, “borderline diabetic” to identify a person with prediabetes. Another term for prediabetes is “impaired glucose tolerance.”

And if that is not enough motivation to trim belly fat that all too frequently matches up with diabetes, consider a 2008 study revealed that people who have large waistlines in their 40s are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia conditions in their 70s. The Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente Division of Research study reported that individual with the biggest bellies had two times the risk of the leanest people. And belly fat was deemed a more significant risk factor than family history, even if both parents suffered from Alzheimer’s.

Seems like enough motivation for any of us guys out there to make a doctor's appointment–even if a female has to actually make it.

“Bob Condor is the Daily Health Blogger for Barton Publishing . He is also the Living Well columnist for theSeattle Post-Intelligencer . He covers natural health and quality of life issues and writes regularly for national magazines, including Life, Esquire, Parade, Self, and Outside. He is a former syndicated health columnist for the Chicago Tribune and author of six books, including “The Good Mood Diet” and “Your Prostate Cancer Survivors' Guide.” He lives in the Pacific Northwest with his wife and two 11-year-old kids.

 

 

 

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