June is Men's Health Month: 'Generally, we as men don't prioritise our health'

Gugs Mhlungu spoke to resident GP and Proactive Health Solutions CEO, Dr Fundile Nyati.

Listen to their conversation in the audio clip below.

June is Men's Health Month.

The month aims to increase awareness of preventable health problems and to encourage early detection and treatment of diseases.

It's reported that the average man pays less attention to his health than the average woman.

Nyati says this relates to men having been socialised to be strong and not show weakness.

"Generally, we as men don't prioritise our health."

- Dr Fundile Nyati, GP and Proactive Health Solutions CEO

"We, firstly, do not acknowledge when things are not going right, the first symptoms that are saying something is not on, we tend not to acknowledge that... Even if it gets worse, that decision of now I need to see a health professional...we take long."

- Dr Fundile Nyati, GP and Proactive Health Solutions CEO

"The underlying issue is our attitude to health, our behaviours, our lifestyles...they predispose us to a whole range of health challenges."

- Dr Fundile Nyati, GP and Proactive Health Solutions CEO

Here's a list of the common health issues men face: 

• Cardiovascular disease 
• Lung Cancer
• Prostate Cancer
• Depression and Suicide
• Diabetes Mellitus 
• Erectile Dysfunction 
• Liver Disease
• Colon Cancer
• Pancreatic Cancer
• HIV and AIDS
• Gout
• Alcohol Use Disorder
• Chronic Obstructive Airways Disease
• Unintentional injuries and accidents (risky lifestyles) 
• Skin Cancer/Melanoma

Nyati encourages men to get a full medical checkup at least once a year.

Scroll up to listen to the full interview.