Who Takes Better Care of Themselves: Men or Women?
June 2, 2004
(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- New research shows men and women have different approaches when it comes to staying healthy.
Researchers from the University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed data on more than 97,000 men and women who answered questions about their health habits.
Results show women are less likely than men to take a daily aspirin as a preventative measure. Researchers say women at risk for heart disease were even less likely to take aspirin regularly. About 45 percent of high-risk women reported taking aspirin regularly, compared to nearly 60 percent of high-risk men.
Researchers say both genders reported getting their cholesterol and blood pressure checked at similar times.
However, researchers also found women were more likely than men to remember or follow advice about diet and exercise. However, only about two-thirds of both men and women reported exercising and dieting.
Authors of the study conclude, “This just reinforces how hard it is to change people’s behavior, even among high-risk people ... There are many people who should be modifying their behavior and who know they should be dieting and exercising, but they don’t do it. We need to find ways to help them.”
SOURCE: To be published in an upcoming issue of the American Journal of Preventative Medicine
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