We believe it’s time for Kiwi blokes to have a bit of a tune-up of the body and mind variety. Following on from our successes of last year’s Men’s Health Week (MHW) support, we have again teamed up with broadcaster, Te reo Māori mentor and ambassador Scotty Morrison to deliver the ‘Man WoF’.
This year we are spreading the word even further, by translating the 'Man WoF' into three of New Zealand’s most spoken languages - Te reo Māori, Samoan and Mandarin (简体中文).
The Man WoF
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Take the Men's Health Week Quizzes
Prostate Quiz Diabetes Quiz
Heart & Stroke Quiz Mental Health Quiz
What's your score? Quiz
Find out more information from Men's Health Week
The below information has been extracted from the Men's Health Week website. You can find further info, tips and tricks by visiting it here.
Click on any of the quick links below to find out more!
Diabetes
Heart and Stroke
Blood Pressure
Preventative Health
What's up Doc?
Mental Health
Melanoma
Prostate Cancer
Testicular Cancer
Diabetes 
What is it?
Diabetes is an enduring disease that occurs when the pancreas is no longer able to make insulin, or when the body cannot make good use of the insulin it produces. Insulin is a hormone made by the pancreas that acts like a key to let glucose from the food we eat pass from the blood stream into the cells in the body to produce energy.
Diabetes is New Zealand’s fastest-growing health crisis, affecting more than a quarter of a million people.
Risk factors for diabetes
Some risk factors you can’t do anything about, like age, ethnicity, gender, or family history. However, you can change your weight, amount of physical activity you do, what you eat and if you smoke.
What can I do?
Firstly, taking your men’s health check and visiting a health professional is a great way to assess your risk of diabetes.
You can also reduce weight, be active for 30 mins or more most days of the week, eat healthy food, achieve and maintain good control of your blood pressure and blood cholesterol, Get an annual heart and diabetes check from a health professional.
Further information
Heart and stroke 
What is it?
Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most common type of heart disease and happens when the arteries that supply blood to your heart muscle (the coronary arteries) become hardened and narrowed. A gradual blockage can result in angina. A sudden or severe blockage can cause a heart attack or cardiac arrest.
Most heart attacks happen when a blood clot suddenly cuts off the heart’s blood supply, causing permanent heart damage. Over time, CAD can also weaken the heart muscle and contribute to heart failure (blood pumping problems) and arrhythmias (changes to normal heart beat action).
Risk factors for coronary artery disease
There are several factors that are known to increase your risk of CAD. Some risk factors you can’t do anything about, like age, ethnicity, gender, personal or family history of heart attack or stroke.
Other risk factors you can change and making these changes can have a huge impact on your heart health and general wellbeing. Your risk of developing CAD is significantly increased if you smoke, have high blood pressure (hypertension), have a high blood cholesterol level, don’t exercise regularly, have diabetes or are overweight.
What can I do?
A heart and diabetes check works out your risk of having a heart attack or stroke in the next 5 years. It also tells you if you have diabetes or pre-diabetes (where your blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be called diabetes).
The check will let you know what your risk is and give you the chance to talk to your doctor or nurse about ways to improve your health and lead a healthier life.
More information about heart and diabetes checks and heart disease is available through the Heart Foundation website
Blood Pressure 
What is it?
Blood gets pumped around the body when our hearts fill and contract, putting pressure on the arteries. This pressure is highest when leaving the heart and lowest when it returns. Measuring and describing these (high/low numbers) gives your blood pressure. Ideally you are 120/80 (‘120 over 80’) or lower.
Hypertension occurs when there is too much pressure in your blood vessels. This can damage your blood vessels and cause health problems. Think too much air in your tyres.
Risk factors
Anyone can develop high blood pressure, but it becomes more common as you get older. High blood pressure can lead to strokes, heart attacks, heart and kidney failure. It’s a silent killer because we only know it when we measure it.
What can I do?
Get checked regularly as high blood pressure has no warning signs or symptoms.
Also do the sensible stuff: moderate physical activity, eat lots of fruits and vegetables, maintain a healthy weight, cut down on salt and booze, avoid processed meat, and don’t smoke.
The single most important thing that a person with high blood pressure can do is to have an ongoing relationship with a primary care provider. Go to your doctor, establish what your blood pressure is, and then when that changes, your doctor will recommend the next best steps.
Further information
Preventative Health 
What is it?
Preventative Health is all about the things we can do now to help minimise developing a preventable illness. The stats are sobering, 8 Kiwi families every day lose a loved partner, father or tupuna to a PREVENTABLE illness, one they didn’t need to die from.*
What can I do?
- Visit a GP and know your family history
- Measure your blood
- Get regular exercise
- Healthy eating
- Healthy thinking
- Stop smoking
What's up Doc? 
Worried about how long it has been since you last visited a doctor? Don’t be. Now is the time.
Remember this:
- You won’t get a lecture. Your doctor is not your mum, but is actually your partner in the business of keeping you healthy. You both have a role here.
- It’s important you choose – and yes, you can choose – a doctor that you are comfortable with, that you trust and can be fully honest to. Everything you reveal or discuss is confidential.
- Going to the doctor costs about the same as getting a WoF on your car, and way less than say a new tyre. Don’t let the fee cost your life
Mental Health 
There is a growing understanding that although mental health issues can be triggered by stresses in daily life, they are clinical diseases that often require outside help and medical treatment.
They can affect how a man feels, thinks, behaves and interacts with other people, and it is important that men feel they are able to talk about how they are feeling with their family and also their GP.
The most common mental illnesses are anxiety and depressive disorders.
Depression
1 in 8 New Zealand men will experience serious depression during their lifetime. Depression is more than a low mood. It is a serious illness that can need clinical treatment. Those with depression find it hard to function and it can have a serious effect on a person’s physical and mental health.
Factors which can contribute to depression in men:
- Physical health problems
- Relationship problems
- Family problems
- Employment problems
- Drug and alcohol consumption
- Social isolation
- Significant change in living arrangements (e.g. separation or divorce)
There are many things you can do that can help protect you from getting depressed. These include:
- Staying fit and healthy
- Reducing alcohol use
- Getting enough sleep
- Having balance in your life – identifying and managing stress
- Spending time with people you like and trust and doing things you usually enjoy
- Developing skills like problem-solving and communication
Visit www.thelowdown.co.nz if you’re under 20 or www.depression.org.nz for more information
Anxiety
Often people with depression also find they worry about things more than usual. This is known as anxiety. An anxiety disorder is more than just feeling stressed – it’s a serious condition that makes it hard for the person to cope from day-to-day.
It can cause physical symptoms like pain, a pounding heart or stomach cramps and for some people these physical symptoms are their main concern.
Anxiety may be constant, or it may come and go in certain circumstances. Either way it’s important to recognise anxiety when it occurs, and to seek help.
Suicide
In New Zealand the suicide rate for men is 3 times that of women.
Suicide and suicidal tendencies are still some of hardest issues to talk about socially. It can be easier to approach the subject by having a concrete idea of where men are most vulnerable and what triggers can often lead towards an attempt on one’s life.
Those aged between 15-24 have the highest rate of suicide, and Maori suicide rates are significantly higher than non-Maori suicide rates.
Some of the most common triggers for suicide are the breakup of a relationship, debilitating physical illness or accident, death of someone close, a suicide of someone famous or from a peer group, or bullying or discrimination.
For more information or to talk to someone about any difficulties that you or someone close to you might be having in their life, please contact LIFELINE on 0800 543 354 or lifeline.org.nz
Melanoma 
What is it?
Melanoma is a cancer of the pigment cells (melanocytes) in the skin, which if not treated can spread very quickly through the body.
Risk factors for melanoma
The most common areas for melanoma are those exposed to the sun, but melanoma can develop in any skin type cells in the body, even areas not exposed to the sun.
Melanomas usually appear as a changed mole or freckle, so if any mole or freckle changes, get it checked out.
What can I do?
One simple way to remember the signs and symptoms of melanoma is the mnemonic ABCDE:
Asymmetrical – the mole, freckle or lesion is not round.
Border – the border is irregular or not well defined.
Colour – melanomas usually have multiple colours or are dark (or have no colour at all).
Diameter – moles greater than 5 mm are more likely to be melanomas than smaller moles.
Evolution – any change should be looked at.
Check your skin regularly, and if you note anything unusual, you must do something about it. Visit your doctor and start the process.
Prostate Cancer 
What is it?
Prostate cancer develops when cells in the prostate gland grow abnormally, and can spread either locally or around the body. Around 1 in 10 New Zealand men will develop prostate cancer at some stage in their lifetime.
Risk factors for prostate cancer
The risk factors for prostate cancer are:
- age: the risk of prostate cancer increases from age 50
- a close family member, like a father or brother, had prostate cancer
- Lynch syndrome (a rare genetic disorder)
- Being overweight or obese increases the risk of advanced prostate cancer.
What can I do?
Get tested. There are a range of tests your doctor can arrange which can determine if you have or may be developing prostate cancer. These include the PSA test, physical examination and ultrasound testing. All are painless, simple and easy to get underway.
Further information
www.prostate.org.nz www.kupe.net.nz
