Being that it is Movember, a month dedicated to raising awareness about prostate cancer, we wanted to share some interesting facts about men’s health. For a long time society has expected men to be tough and resilient. Although you will discover some impressive facts about male physiology, it is important to take note of their physical and mental health risks. Here are 10 facts you should know about men’s health:
- Men’s upper body is 2x stronger than women’s upper body
- Testosterone has been shown to decrease anxiety
- Built for size, strength, and speed
- Men are at a greater risk for type 2 diabetes
- Men have a shorter life expectancy
- Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men
- Men have greater spatial memory
- Men’s caloric needs decrease as they age
- Men have a higher bone density
- Men have slightly larger brains
Men’s Upper Body is Around 2x Stronger than Women’s Upper-Body Strength
In our previous article on women’s health facts, we explained how women’s lower-body muscles are actually very strong. In fact, they are equal, if not stronger in their lower body. The upper body is a different story.
Studies have found varying differences between men and women’s upper body strength. Some say women have 40% of the upper body strength of men, while others report 50%.
In the study of anatomy and physiology, the central dogma for all of your studies is “form and function”. Men’s upper body is stronger because they develop greater muscle mass in their upper body. Historically men have been required to lift heavy objects over their heads, as well as pushing pulling objects. Their upper body strength can also be attributed to the hunter-gatherer days when men had to hunt, kill, and carry large animals for their tribe and families.
Testosterone Has Been Shown to Decrease Anxiety
Testosterone, the main male sex hormone, can actually help with anxiety and depression. In studies comparing the levels of anxiety and depression between men and women, women were twice as likely to experience anxiety and depression (due to fluctuating hormones).
Men are somewhat protected from these issues because of testosterone (protected but not immune). The mechanisms by which testosterone protects against anxiety and depression are not perfectly clear, but multiple studies have shown that when testosterone is present or introduced to a system, anxiety and depression go down.
This fact is especially important to know because there are many environmental and biological factors that can decrease a man’s natural testosterone levels. Sedentary lifestyle, alcohol, processed sugars, and ageing will all decrease natural testosterone levels in men and women.
Men are built for size, strength, and speed
These characteristics begin very early in life. The Y chromosome, which carries the genetic coding for male characteristics starts producing male characteristics with the womb. It is what changes the ovaries to testes, and floods the brain with testosterone.
This genetic coding has been passed down for thousands of years and is the result of the “fittest” men passing on their genetic code.
Although not all men are built like the mighty Thor (illustrated below), the capacity for size, strength, and speed is there. You just have to give the body the right stimulus and consistently demand strength and speed in order to realize your full potential.
Men are at a higher risk for type 2 diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is when the cells of the pancreas cannot create enough insulin (or any insulin) to help manage blood glucose levels. Type 2 diabetes is typically brought on by over exhausting the pancreas. This is usually caused by poor dietary choices, and consuming too much sugar and processed sugars, leading to weight gain.
As we mentioned in our article about women’s health, they are more likely to carry more weight, and estrogen works with insulin to help regulate blood sugar levels and fat storage.
For men, they are not meant to carry additional weight the way that women are(see fact 3). This means that it takes less extra weight to indicate a risk for type 2 diabetes. A study found that men did not need as high of a BMI as women to be at risk of type 2 diabetes.
Men typically live shorter lives than women
There are many factors that play into this fact. Testosterone is not as protective as estrogen. Men are also less likely to go to the doctor to get something checked. Men typically engage in risky behaviour as well, which can shorten their lives.
This fact is not absolute, and if you are taking care of your health, eating well, exercising regularly, and living a balanced lifestyle, you can still live a long and full life. Just be careful.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men
It wouldn’t be a Movember blog article without some information on prostate cancer. Prostate cancer is the leading cancer diagnosis among Canadian men, and is the 3rd leading cause of death after lung and colon cancer. On average, 64 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer every day. 10% of all male deaths in Canada will be because of prostate cancer.
Although 1 in 9 men will likely develop prostate cancer, 1 in 29 of those cases are at risk of dying from the disease. If detected early, the survival rate is almost 100%. However if detected too late, 3 out of 4 men will die from the disease.
For more information on getting checked for prostate cancer, check out this link on the PSA test
Men Have Greater Spatial Memory
Although women have better verbal memory, men have better spatial memory. This could explain why women are sometimes more clumsy than men, and men find it easier to do tasks where spatial awareness is an asset.
This advantage is likely due to the effect of testosterone on the brain. Evidence suggests that women who were exposed to more testosterone in the womb have better spatial awareness than women who were exposed to normal amounts. This proves that testosterone does indeed play a part in a person’s spatial awareness and memory.
Men’s caloric needs decrease as they age
At around 45-50 years old, the energy requirements of men go down. As the systems of the body age, men no longer require as many calories as they did when they were at their physical peak.
Everything starts to slow down, so by eating too much you actually put stress on the body to try and break down more food than it can handle. Although fewer calories are required, the quality of those calories needs to be maintained.
You’ll want to choose foods that are high in important vitamins and minerals because the body’s ability to absorb nutrients starts to decline as you age. You’ll also want to watch your sugar intake as the body is no longer burning fat for fuel the way that it was at a younger age. Unused calories get stored as fat (in simple terms), and as we mentioned before, it takes less weight on a man for him to develop type 2 diabetes.
Men have a higher bone density
One of the side effects of greater muscle mass, and greater physical demand, is that men have a higher bone density than women. This is a major long-term health benefit as it also puts men at a lower risk of developing osteoporosis than women.
Bone density can be improved at a young age by doing regular, heavy lifting and resistance training. As the muscles stretch and contract, they pull on the bones they are attached to. As you perform more reps and lift heavier weight, the “stress” put on the bone at the insertion and attachment point causes the bone to increase in density.
Greater bone density not only decreases the risk of developed osteoporosis but decreases the risk of fractures later in life.
Men have slightly larger brains
That’s right – men have slightly larger brains than women, even when you take men’s larger bodies into account.
Researchers have been looking at the differences in men’s and women’s brains for quite some time now. Going back to the anatomy and physiology central dogma, think form and function here. What the researchers discovered is that the men have higher brain volumes than women in every subcortical region that they studied.
Below is a diagram of the brain to help you visualize these areas.
The areas where men showed greater brain volume include the hippocampus (memory and spatial awareness), the amygdala (emotions, memory, and decision-making), striatum (learning, inhibition, and reward-processing), and thalamus (processing and relaying sensory information to other parts of the brain).
Another interesting fact from this study found that the thickness and volume between men vary quite a bit. This could explain why on IQ tests, evidence sees very little variability between men and women but shows a great degree of variability between male subjects.
Men’s health is often neglected because, historically, men are expected to be tough and resilient. With more science and research going into the behavioural and physiological aspects of men’s health, it is important that we all support men’s health initiatives and normalize the men caring for their health the same way that women do.
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