Canadian men’s health week focuses on the effects of lifestyle choices
Canadian Men’s Health Foundation has released a study highlighting the damaging effects of lifestyle choices on men’s health and wealth to kick things off for men’s health week. Only 30% of a man’s health is tied to his genetics while the other 70% is determined by lifestyle, according to the CMHF.
The study looked at three risk factors, including alcohol use, tobacco smoking and excess weight, and estimated the cost to the average Canadian man over his lifetime could hit C$1.7 million to C$8.6 million.These costs were obtained by calculating the costs of goods, insurance premiums and investment returns based on low to high risk cases.
The report also goes beyond the financial losses caused by these lifestyle choices. It also claims that while the average life expectancy of a Canadian man is 79 years, smoking cigarettes can take 10 years off of his life, drinking alcohol, almost eight years and being obese could cut life expectancy by nearly six years.
“This is eye-opening news for guys, who might not consider the true costs of their bad habits,” said the president of the Canadian Men’s Health Foundation, Wayne Hartrick, in a news release.
The good news is even small lifestyle changes can begin to pay dividends. “The only way they can sort of get started being healthy is by having small simple things they can integrate into their lifestyle, whether it’s choosing to walk that one flight of stairs besides the escalator, or whether it’s pushing the salty snacks a little bit farther away.”
Hartwick says there is no magic bullet to reduce risk, but small lifestyle changes can get people on track to better health and wealth. The foundation started a campaign called “Don’t Change Much” to call on men to take small steps towards improving their lifestyle. He also said that although they don’t expect dramatic changes overnight, even if a fraction of the money forecast can be saved, the financial impact would be impressive.
