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Better health for young men
10 April 2008
National Youth Week (5 – 13 April) presents an ideal opportunity for young Australians, particularly young men, to consider their health and the choices they make which affect their wellbeing, AMA Victoria President Dr Doug Travis said today.
“Youth Week is a time for young people to share ideas and have their voices heard. We can’t take good health for granted so it is important to encourage young men to think about health and the impact their lifestyle choices has on health.
“Many decisions are made in your teens and early twenties that affect your health later in life. Men still suffer a greater burden of disease than women and are more likely to be afflicted by the early onset of health conditions because of poor choices made throughout their lives.
“Most young people know that smoking, excessive alcohol consumption and illicit drugs are risk factors that should be avoided. The risk of injury is also a health concern for young men.”
Dr Travis said sexual health should be on the agenda for Youth Week health discussions.
“We need to talk about condoms, we need to talk about poor choices made under the influence of alcohol and drugs, and we need to talk about the need for young people to keep themselves safe and to protect others.”
According to Dr Travis, men are typically less inclined to seek help when then they have a medical problem.
“They often delay treatment because they expect to recover on their own and it is not until the problem affects regular activities that they seek help,” said Dr Travis.
“Early intervention is the key to managing many health problems. Building a good relationship with a general practitioner that you get along with is important for identifying health issues early on.”
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