Pharma Strategy Blog

This is National Men's Health Week in the UK and to accompany it the Cancer Research UK (CRUK) shared a press release highlighting the shocking difference between men and women in cancer deaths. Lifestyle, diet, alcohol and exercise were thought to be major contributing factors.

Here is a link to short (4 min) CRUK audio clip.

The report shows that men are almost 40 per cent more likely than women to die from cancer. The scale of the difference was dramatic and surprising, even to the researchers, given that there are no biological reasons why men should be more susceptible to women in many of the cancers affecting both sexes.
The CRUK release also noted:

"Experts suggest that a possible explanation for the differences seen for some types of cancer could be down to stereotypical male behaviour – like down playing important early symptoms and having an unhealthy lifestyle."

Image by Marshall Astor – Food Pornographer via Flickr

The impact of lack of exercise, poor diet and junk food can have a lasting impact on individuals, but what of the future?  By the time this generation retires, the potential effects on the long-term health cost and burden to society will be much greater than our parents and grand parents generations who lived through the war and were generally leaner and healthier, relatively.  This is an unsustainable situation that may well bankrupt the UK Government and the NHS in the future unless more people get the message that fitter, healthier lifestyles are more desirable all around.