Weight The term “beer belly” in males encompasses more than a few brews. Doctors say males tend to put on weight in their midsections with a fatty diet and unhealthy lifestyle, or a combination of lack of sleep and eating late at night. And men hate to hear their doctors proclaim: “You’ve got to lose 10 pounds.” Seems easy, correct? Sometimes all it taks is a lifestyle change as a change in dietary choices. In particular, Mask says black males across the Southeast have a higher death rate associated with stroke, which leads back to diet choices. “We love our pork, we love out red meat, and we also tend to exercise less in this region. Seventy-two percent of Americans are either overweight or obese, and obesity is a major risk factor for everything,” Mask said. A simple treadmill test on a regular basis, even for younger males, is a good idea, the doctors said.
Prostate Exams Males need to begin these procedures once a year at the age of 40, most of the time in conjunction with a physical. “This is the one procedure that jumps out for me at this age,” Mask said. A large cross section of males don’t get an annual physical, which is puzzling to doctors since most if not all insurance companies cover this procedure. Mask recommends having the rectal exam and blood work. “And you can’t skip one,” Mask said. “The idea is you have to have the two done at the same time.” Mask says males often balk at the rectal exam. “Once they have it done, it takes less than 10 seconds. It is really not that invasive. You just have to man up. By the time you walk out of the office, you feel perfectly fine. It makes no sense to balk at this.” And of note, more African Americans die of prostate cancer in North Carolina than any other state. “If I am going to take my car in once or twice a year to the auto dealer for a checkup, I’m certainly going to do it for my own body,” Mask said.
Colonoscopy A must at age 50, but yet again another exam males tend to shy away from. “A lot of people just don’t think about their own mortality; you’re busy making a living and looking after your family,” Hughes said. “And having an education is important; knowing about the benefits of good, clean living and paying attention to symptoms.” Colon cancer is the most preventable form of cancer in males, but can lead to serious problems if gone undetected. If the exam is normal, the recommendation is to have another one at age 60. “Males need to put a big red flag by this exam,” Mask said. “It all starts off as a polyp, maybe the size of a BB or maybe two or three BBs strung together, and the doctors notice those and shave it off, much like shaving a piece of your beard, and then it’s gone. It’s not a cancer where all of a sudden a mass is there the size of a lemon, so it’s very preventable.” Sedation methods now make the procedure very tolerable.
Exercise Males more than females suffer from the “I’ll do it tomorrow” syndrome, and it’s most prevalent when it comes to regular exercise, which can greatly reduce many health issues. A lack of time because of work is the number 1 excuse here, but as Hughes says, that’s what it is – an excuse. “A yearly physical can pick up things such as diabetes or high blood pressure,” Hughes said. “The problem is, people will start on an exercise program in January and it might last until March. That doesn’t do much good.” For 25 years, Hughes would wake up at 5:40am and jog 2 and a half miles per day. “Those who don’t exercise just aren’t motivated,” Hughes said. “I grew up in the Depression and had to work hard. I guess I was just one of those males who was motivated. Most people agree you should do it, but only a small percentage will do it regularly.” At 95, Hughes still goes to the gym three times a week for 30 minutes. “And then some guys just walk around with their potbellies hanging over their belts.”
Stress Males are still viewed as the primary breadwinner in most families, and if the wife also works then chores, such as watching the kids or grocery shopping, have to be shared responsibilities at home, adding more stress to an already stressful lifestyle. “Being able to handle stress is probably one of the greatest gifts a person can have – not getting overly excited in stressful situations, being able to remain relatively calm so you can think things through,” Hughes said. “That doesn’t come easy, and some people can never handle stress.” Mask notes that the leading deaths in males center on cardiovascular disease. Meaning blood pressure checks on a regular basis can alert doctors to early symptoms. L
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