This Saturday is International Men’s Day. It’s an annual opportunity to recognize the important men in our lives. It’s also a perfect time to talk about men’s health and wellness – something we advocate for every day here at Men’s Health Network.
Knowing that Sanofi is committed to men’s health, as well, we recently teamed up to conduct a survey that explored men’s attitudes and behaviors when it comes to their own health and wellness. Today, I’ll share some notable findings from this survey.
• Craving Control: One of most notable findings of our survey was that 90% of men in the U.S. say they want to take charge of their health. Specific areas that men say they want to work on include improving their level of fitness (85%), reducing their fatigue/boosting their energy levels (83%), and improving their diet/nutrition (84%).
• Conveying Confidence: In addition to this motivation to take charge of their health, men today are also confident about their ability to do so. In fact, men are actually more confident about managing their health (89%) than they are about making career decisions (73%). We think this confidence might derive in part from a sense of control. For example, when a health issue arises, most men say they have enough knowledge to identify it (87%) and figure out what to do about it (90%). And despite the common stereotype about men who avoid the doctor, most men (94%) actually say they are proactive about seeing a physician when needed.
• Stressing the Significance of Sexual Health: The survey also reaffirmed something we often hear first-hand from men across the country, which is that sexual health is an important priority for them. Nearly 1 in 3 men in the US (30%) say sexual health is one of the most important elements of their overall health and wellness. And “sexual health” means much more to them than just sex itself. They believe it is a multifaceted mix of both physical and emotional factors, including the ability to perform sexual intercourse (84%), a regular frequency of intercourse (75%), the ability to achieve sexual satisfaction (84%), being free of genital diseases or infections (92%), and a sense of emotional intimacy with their partner (83%).
Overall, we think these findings provide some interesting insight into the state of men’s health today and will be important for us to keep in mind as we continue our efforts to empower them to live healthier lives.
If you’d like to read more about these survey results or men’s health in general, please check out MensHealthNetwork.org.
The survey was conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of Chattem, Inc. the U.S. consumer healthcare division of Sanofi in partnership with Men’s Health Network. It was conducted from August 31 to September 6, 2016 among 2,031 U.S adults aged 18 or older, including 832 men. Data are weighted where necessary by gender, age, race/ethnicity, region, education, and income.
