On average, men die at a significantly younger age than women 

The average life expectancy for man in the UK at birth and at age 65 is lower for men than women, however there is no biological reason for this.  The reasons for the poor state of men’s health in the UK and around the world are numerous and complex.
 
From Movember’s perspective the reasons for the poor state of men’s health include:

• Lack of awareness and understanding of the health issues men face
• Men not openly discussing their health and how they’re feeling
• Reluctance to take action when men don’t feel physically or mentally well
• Men engaging in risky activities that threaten their health 
• Stigmas surrounding mental health

Movember aims to change the face of men’s health and reverse this way of thinking by putting a fun twist on this serious issue.  Using the moustache as a catalyst, they want to bring about change and give men the opportunity and confidence to learn and talk about their health more openly and take action.

Using scary stats to motivate people is not how they roll at Movember, but the facts below are too startling to ignore… 

• Men have a 14% higher risk of developing cancer than women and a 37% higher risk of dying from it
• Around 2,300 men in the UK were diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2010
• More than 100 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every day in the UK
• 1 in 4 people in the UK will experience some kind of mental health problem in the course of a year
• Suicide is the single most common cause of death in men under 35
• 25% of men in the UK were categorised as obese in 2011 compared to 13% of men in 1993
• Since 1996 the number of people in the UK diagnosed with diabetes has increased from 1.4 million to 2.9 million
• In England more men than women have been diagnosed with diabetes. 6.3% of men reported that they had diabetes and 5.3 % of women
• Smoking causes around 87% of lung cancer deaths in men in the UK compared to 83% in women
• A study published in December 2011 estimated that smoking causes nearly a fifth of all cancer cases in the UK
• Men are twice as likely as women to abuse or become dependent on alcohol
• A quarter of deaths of men under 34 can be attributed to alcohol
• 6% of men in the UK are “at risk” drinkers – someone who drinks more than 51 units a week

The Movember vision is to have an everlasting impact on the face of men’s health by supporting prostate and testicular cancer and mental health.  They focus their efforts on:

    Awareness and education
    Staying mentally healthy
    Living with and beyond cancer
    Living with and beyond mental illness
    Research

Movember