According to students at FAMU and Florida State, men’s health is either not being focused on, or readers are just not interested.
And black men, in particular, are not aware of their health and fitness needs.
Deidra Moody, 22, a biology student at FSU, is convinced that “men’s health is ignored by the masses. The only health concern that is discussed with men is prostate cancer.”
Reports show that there are many ways of finding the facts about men’s health.
But some people believe the attention given to men’s health is not equal to that of women’s health.
Jamaal Mcknight, 22, a psychology student said, “Black men, especially, are not aware of the state of their health. Society feels that as black men, we are not interested in learning about our health, so there is not a lot of focus on it.”
Nicole Stadom, a nurse and nutrition analyst at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital said researchers began to focus on certain health issues that tended to affect women more than men because of high death rates related to the diseases.
“Breast cancer-related deaths were becoming more and more prevalent, and (it) seemed like it was some kind of epidemic,” said Stadom, a 26-year-old graduate student from Tampa.
“Women basically took a stand, which is why there are more charities and programs related to women’s health.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the majority of black men are not aware of certain health risks that affect them.
Glenn Sacks, issue columnist and radio talk show host in Los Angeles, said in his column “Men’s Silent Health Crisis Cries Out For Men’s Health Act,” that the federal government spends four times as much on breast cancer research as it does on prostate cancer research.
Sacks added that the money raised by private charities for breast cancer is estimated to outnumber that for prostate cancer 20 to 1.Jean Bonhomme, an Atlanta physician and founder of the National Black Men’s Health Network, commented in Sacks’ column saying that “Men are completely ignorant about prostate cancer and the fact that it is a major health problem.”