{"id":6281,"date":"2020-06-17T13:20:12","date_gmt":"2020-06-17T17:20:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/?p=6281"},"modified":"2025-01-15T14:18:27","modified_gmt":"2025-01-15T19:18:27","slug":"mens-health-canada","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/blog\/mens-health-canada\/","title":{"rendered":"What’s happening with men’s health in Canada?"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s a gender gap when it comes to health \u2014 and men should be paying close attention. On average, Canadian men live <\/span>four years less<\/span><\/a> than Canadian women do. They\u2019re also more likely to die from diabetes, heart disease and liver disease. So let\u2019s take a deeper dive to find out what\u2019s going on with men’s health in Canada, and discuss some simple <\/span>health tips for men<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Health facts for Canadian men<\/h2>\n

When it comes to <\/span>health issues, men<\/span> just aren\u2019t taking care of themselves as well as women do. While many Canadians <\/span>report fairly high levels of stress<\/span><\/a>, men are less likely than women to engage in healthy lifestyle behaviours to counteract it. In fact, <\/span>more than half<\/span> of Canadian men aren’t getting enough sleep, aren’t exercising enough and aren’t eating as healthy as they should.<\/span><\/p>\n

It likely doesn\u2019t come as a shock that <\/span>35 percent<\/span><\/a> of Canadian men aren\u2019t getting the six to nine hours of sleep a night that they need. Lack of sleep increases our risk of both obesity and diabetes<\/a>, so do yourself a favour and make sleep a priority. And most of us also need to work some\u00a0more exercise into our day \u2014 <\/span>59 percent<\/span> of Canadian men say they\u2019re not reaching the 150-minute weekly minimum our bodies need to stay healthy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Alcohol and health risks in Canadian men<\/h2>\n

Sleep and exercise aren\u2019t the only areas of improvement, though. Even though Canadian <\/span>women are drinking more<\/span><\/a> than ever, they still have a long way to go before they catch up to men. A <\/span>report on alcohol consumption<\/span><\/a> in Canada suggests that while one in five women admits to risky drinking at least once a month, that number jumps to one in three when we look at men. <\/span><\/p>\n

Like cigarettes, alcohol is carcinogenic. Heavy drinking increases the risk of developing certain types of cancer, including cancers of the liver, oesophagus and larynx. It can also lead to cirrhosis of the liver. No one is expecting men give up drinking completely \u2014 one to two drinks a day may even have a <\/span>preventative effect<\/span><\/a> in terms of heart disease. But like most things in life, moderation is key.<\/span><\/p>\n

Healthy eating for men<\/h2>\n

Organic or not, eating five to 10 servings of fruit and vegetables a day <\/span>lowers your risk<\/span><\/a> of developing both heart disease and certain types of cancer. Unfortunately, many Canadian men aren\u2019t getting the minimum number of servings. While almost <\/span>35 percent<\/span><\/a> of women report eating five or more servings, only 22% of men report the same.<\/span><\/p>\n

Healthy eating is important for you as an individual. For those of us who are parents though, it is part of the job. Making good dietary choices is crucial for helping your family to stay healthy, since your children are watching you. Being exposed to a healthy diet in childhood will lead to your kids making healthier choices for themselves in the long-term. So make sure your whole family is getting their 5-10 a day.<\/span><\/p>\n

The protective benefits of strong social bonds<\/h2>\n

Staying healthy means paying attention to more than just your physical body \u2014 it involves your emotional and mental health, too. According to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, by the time Canadians turn 40, <\/span>half of us<\/span><\/a> will have had or will be experiencing a mental illness or addiction. Dealing with these difficult issues requires support \u2014 from family, friends and community. Stereotypical ideals of the \u201cstrong, silent\u201d man, however, can make men feel like they shouldn\u2019t talk about their feelings. So they can be left isolated, with no one to talk to about what is troubling them.<\/span><\/p>\n

Narrow and outdated ideas around what men \u201cshould do\u201d can prevent men from developing intimate relationships where they feel free to\u00a0share their feelings and experiences. Strong social support can be a protective factor when it comes to suicide prevention, and indeed\u00a0the <\/span>suicide rate for Canadian men<\/span><\/a> is three times higher than for women, with those aged 40-59 most likely to die from it. Divorced men are almost <\/span>twice as likely<\/span><\/a> to commit suicide as married men.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Be alert to the signs and symptoms of depression<\/a> and other mental health issues. And take stock of your support system \u2014 meaningful relationships and supports help prevent a host of issues. But if you\u2019re not comfortable sharing with friends, you can always speak to your doctor or a therapist<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Healthy lifestyles mean healthier living for men<\/h2>\n

Not only do Canadian women typically live longer than men, men also have fewer years of good health. The lifestyle choices we make as young people follow us throughout our lives. Smoking, heavy drinking and inactivity will often cause health trouble later on. Our statistics show that <\/span>for men, healthier living <\/span>needs to become more of a priority. You will thank yourself for it later, since simple lifestyle changes can help to prevent a host of issues.<\/span><\/p>\n

The information presented here is for educational purposes and is not meant to replace the advice from your medical professional.<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

When using virtual care, all medical treatment is at the sole discretion of the provider. Virtual care is not meant for medical emergencies, and your provider will determine if your case is appropriate for virtual care. If you are experiencing an emergency like chest pain or difficulties breathing, for example, please call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We have a healthcare gender gap \u2014 how you can help yourself, or the men in your life. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":12670,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false},"categories":[7379],"tags":[],"acf":{"image":{"ID":12670,"id":12670,"title":"blog_menshealth","filename":"blog_menshealth.jpg","filesize":195185,"url":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/blog_menshealth.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/blog\/mens-health-canada\/blog_menshealth\/","alt":"","author":"14","description":"","caption":"","name":"blog_menshealth","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":6281,"date":"2020-06-17 19:19:08","modified":"2020-06-17 19:19:49","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":2880,"height":1180,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/blog_menshealth-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/blog_menshealth-300x123.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":123,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/blog_menshealth-768x315.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":315,"large":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/blog_menshealth-1024x420.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":420,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/blog_menshealth.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":629,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/blog_menshealth.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":839,"square1200":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/blog_menshealth-1200x1180.jpg","square1200-width":1200,"square1200-height":1180,"square600":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/blog_menshealth-600x600.jpg","square600-width":600,"square600-height":600,"square300":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/blog_menshealth-300x300.jpg","square300-width":300,"square300-height":300,"square200":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/blog_menshealth-200x200.jpg","square200-width":200,"square200-height":200,"square100":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/blog_menshealth-100x100.jpg","square100-width":100,"square100-height":100,"feature1200":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/blog_menshealth-1200x600.jpg","feature1200-width":1200,"feature1200-height":600,"feature1100":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/blog_menshealth-1100x500.jpg","feature1100-width":1100,"feature1100-height":500,"feature800":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/blog_menshealth-800x400.jpg","feature800-width":800,"feature800-height":400,"feature400":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/blog_menshealth-400x200.jpg","feature400-width":400,"feature400-height":200,"facebook1200":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/blog_menshealth-1200x630.jpg","facebook1200-width":1200,"facebook1200-height":630,"medium_retina":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/blog_menshealth-1200x492.jpg","medium_retina-width":1200,"medium_retina-height":492,"large_retina":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/blog_menshealth-2360x967.jpg","large_retina-width":2360,"large_retina-height":967}},"intro_text":"","meta_description":"","add_promotional_banner":false,"add_call_to_action":true,"call_to_action_text":"Questions about men's health?","call_to_action_button_text":"Speak with a Maple doctor","call_to_action_link":"https:\/\/app.getmaple.ca\/login","show_age_gate":false},"yoast_head":"\nWhat's happening with men's health in Canada? | Maple<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Canadian men can expect to live four fewer years than Canadian women and have fewer healthy years. What's happened to the state of men's health in Canada?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/blog\/mens-health-canada\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What's happening with men's health in Canada?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Canadian men can expect to live four fewer years than Canadian women and have fewer healthy years. What's happened to the state of men's health in Canada?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/blog\/mens-health-canada\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Maple\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-06-17T17:20:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-01-15T19:18:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/blog_menshealth.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2880\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1180\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Maple\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/\",\"sameAs\":[],\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/maple_logo@3x.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/maple_logo@3x.png\",\"width\":702,\"height\":240,\"caption\":\"Maple\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/\",\"name\":\"Maple\",\"description\":\"Online Doctors, Virtual Health & Prescriptions in Canada\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/blog\/mens-health-canada\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/blog_menshealth.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/blog_menshealth.jpg\",\"width\":2880,\"height\":1180},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/blog\/mens-health-canada\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/blog\/mens-health-canada\/\",\"name\":\"What's happening with men's health in Canada? | Maple\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/blog\/mens-health-canada\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-06-17T17:20:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-01-15T19:18:27+00:00\",\"description\":\"Canadian men can expect to live four fewer years than Canadian women and have fewer healthy years. What's happened to the state of men's health in Canada?\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/blog\/mens-health-canada\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/blog\/mens-health-canada\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/blog\/mens-health-canada\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What’s happening with men’s health in Canada?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/blog\/mens-health-canada\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/blog\/mens-health-canada\/#webpage\"},\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/#\/schema\/person\/91bed388e6602c0154576eb9af527ce9\"},\"headline\":\"What’s happening with men’s health in Canada?\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-06-17T17:20:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-01-15T19:18:27+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/blog\/mens-health-canada\/#webpage\"},\"wordCount\":904,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/blog\/mens-health-canada\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/blog_menshealth.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Preventative health and wellness\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/#\/schema\/person\/91bed388e6602c0154576eb9af527ce9\",\"name\":\"Alexandra Armstrong\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/blog\/author\/alexandra\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What's happening with men's health in Canada? | Maple","description":"Canadian men can expect to live four fewer years than Canadian women and have fewer healthy years. What's happened to the state of men's health in Canada?","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/blog\/mens-health-canada\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What's happening with men's health in Canada?","og_description":"Canadian men can expect to live four fewer years than Canadian women and have fewer healthy years. What's happened to the state of men's health in Canada?","og_url":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/blog\/mens-health-canada\/","og_site_name":"Maple","article_published_time":"2020-06-17T17:20:12+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-01-15T19:18:27+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2880,"height":1180,"url":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/blog_menshealth.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/#organization","name":"Maple","url":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/","sameAs":[],"logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/maple_logo@3x.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/maple_logo@3x.png","width":702,"height":240,"caption":"Maple"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/","name":"Maple","description":"Online Doctors, Virtual Health & Prescriptions in Canada","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/blog\/mens-health-canada\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/blog_menshealth.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/blog_menshealth.jpg","width":2880,"height":1180},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/blog\/mens-health-canada\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/blog\/mens-health-canada\/","name":"What's happening with men's health in Canada? | Maple","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/blog\/mens-health-canada\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2020-06-17T17:20:12+00:00","dateModified":"2025-01-15T19:18:27+00:00","description":"Canadian men can expect to live four fewer years than Canadian women and have fewer healthy years. What's happened to the state of men's health in Canada?","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/blog\/mens-health-canada\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/blog\/mens-health-canada\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/blog\/mens-health-canada\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What’s happening with men’s health in Canada?"}]},{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/blog\/mens-health-canada\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/blog\/mens-health-canada\/#webpage"},"author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/#\/schema\/person\/91bed388e6602c0154576eb9af527ce9"},"headline":"What’s happening with men’s health in Canada?","datePublished":"2020-06-17T17:20:12+00:00","dateModified":"2025-01-15T19:18:27+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/blog\/mens-health-canada\/#webpage"},"wordCount":904,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/blog\/mens-health-canada\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/blog_menshealth.jpg","articleSection":["Preventative health and wellness"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/#\/schema\/person\/91bed388e6602c0154576eb9af527ce9","name":"Alexandra Armstrong","url":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/blog\/author\/alexandra\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6281"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6281"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6281\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33757,"href":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6281\/revisions\/33757"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12670"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.getmaple.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}