Despite the fact that obesity affects men and women evenly, women are much more likely than men to undergo weigh loss surgery. In fact, 87% of My New Body\u2019s Obesity Center patients are women. Unfortunately this happens with several health related problems. The main reason I found among my patients is cultural. Sexist culture significantly affects the approach we men have about health. We (men) are less concerned about our health until we get older and face more serious problems and this is a serious problem. Men die on average 6 years earlier than women, and for largely preventable reasons. Women seem to be more aware of their health and are willing to take action earlier in their lives. When talking about Weight Loss Surgery they (women) are much more willing to look at surgical weight loss earlier in life, whereas men tend to wait until they have more co-morbidities (adverse health conditions). Men are always reluctant to seek professional help to treat health related problems.<\/p>\n
This is something that we need to change by educating men about the need to treat obesity earlier in their lives, and not wait until they develop complications.<\/p>\n
Also we need to fight against the common misconception that Bariatric Surgery purpose is to \u201clook Better\u201d and this couldn\u2019t be farther from the truth. Obesity itself is a disease and bariatric surgery is one of the most effective methods to treat obesity. Bariatric Surgery also contributes to improve medical conditions associated with obesity, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, sleep apnea and arthritis.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s often regarded as a short cut or as a way of cheating for those who don\u2019t have the drive or discipline to drop major pounds through healthy eating and exercise. But the truth is that weight loss surgery is a lot more complicated than that, actually the surgery is just the starting point to a healthier new life. Our bodies are designed to resist starvation this is why we tend to store fat; but our bodies are not designed to lose weight and this is why is so complicate to do so. Diet and exercise are extremely important to a healthy lifestyle, but when you look at the statistics you find 98 percent of patients who lose weight through diet and exercise gain it back within six months.<\/p>\n
Taking care of your health won\u2019t make you less of a man; actually it will give you more years of being a man.<\/p>\n
Fortunately awareness among men is being raised with campaigns such as the one starting today: Movember. Movember <\/strong>is an annual event involving the growing of moustaches during the month of November to raise awareness of men\u2019s health issues, such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and men\u2019s suicide. The Movember Foundation runs the Movember charity event, housed at Movember.com. The goal of Movember is to \u201cchange the face of men\u2019s health.\u201d<\/p>\n We, at My New Body Obesity Center support this campaign<\/a> and encourage men all over the world to take action towards healthier versions of themselves by taking care of their health.<\/p>\n