Advice From the World’s Healthiest Men

Posted February 25, 2008 at 04:00 PM by Denise Musumeci

Section: In The News, His Fitness, Alt. Therapies, His Health, Physical Health, Lifestyle Health, His Nutrition, Healthy Eating, Diets

Want to lead an emotionally and physically healthier lifestyle? MSNBC published a worldwide survey of over 20,000 men in various countries on topics such as fitness, work, vacations, diet, sex lives, and health. Using surveys and statistics from sources such as the World Health Organization, the best and the worst countries in each category were ranked.

Considering the fittest countries, obesity rates, strength, amount of time spent exercising each week, and six-pack prevalence were surveyed. Netherlands, Canada, Poland, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom were ranked as the best countries for fitness, while Romania was the most sedentary. Using Canada as an example, their men spend an average of 5.2 hours a week exercising, which is easy considering that more than 50% of major cities are open space.

If you live near a park, you will be more likely to exercise. Another way to get motivated for exercise is to get a dog. People who own dogs typically get twice as much exercise—about five hours a week—than those who don’t have one. Another way to stay fit is to ride a bike. One in five Dutch men have visible six-pack abs because most travel is done on a bicycle, which is good for core strength. Try running errands on a bicycle, or just ride one for fun for a little bit each day.

MSNBC surveyed workweek hours, vacation time, commutes, and leisure time when looking into work versus stress in men’s lives. Spain, Canada, Australia, United States, and Romania are the most relaxed states, while India is the most stressed. Spain ranked the highest for relaxation because social interaction is built into the workday. Instead of staying in a crowded office all day, they may take coffee breaks with colleagues at a coffee shop and brainstorm their ideas there.

Vacation time will also affect the amount of stress into jobs. Each person should shoot for two one-week vacations each year. Don’t worry about making your boss unhappy: in a survey of executives, more than half feel like their employees perform better after vacation time is taken.

The content of meals were taken into account when studying nutrition in each country. The amount of vegetables, fruits, fish, breakfast, tea, and fast food restaurants determined the nutritional value in the diets of each place studied.  Portugal, Spain, Canada, Italy, and Greece have the best nutrition in typical meals served, while Ukrainians eat the worst foods. A major factor in the results is the amount of vegetables served. In Greece, some men are vegetarians for half of the year.

If you are concerned about your diet, use vegetables as your main dish rather than as a side. Menshealth.com has many tasty vegetarian recipes. In Portugal, men eat a serving of seafood each day, which is leaner and contains enough omega-3 fatty acids to reduce the risk of heart disease. Try eating fish instead of red meat a few times a week. If you don’t have enough time to prepare it, stock your cabinets with cans of tuna.

Men are healthiest in Australia, Netherlands, Spain, Canada, and the United States. Death rates for heart disease, cancer, and stroke were taken into consideration, as well as prevalence of smoking, diabetes, cholesterol, blood pressure, and alcohol. Ukraine may be the least healthy country due to the fact that more than half of the men smoke. Only about 19% of American men smoke and over 70% are covered under smoke free laws in buildings and public places. If you still smoke, set a quit date and round up a support system to kick that bad habit.

Marriage and divorce rates, number of sexual partners, number of close friends, and affairs all have something to do with a satisfying sex life. People in the United Kingdom, Poland, Netherlands, Romania, and the Philippines have the best sex lives, while people in Italy are the least satisfied. In Poland, people are monogamous and happy in their relationships and chivalry is not dead.

Doing nice things, like buying her flowers, opening the door for her, and kissing her hand make her feel like a partner in a relationship and not another notch in the old bedpost. British people have satisfying sex lives because they are not afraid to speak up about what they like in bed. If you want to try something new, just ask.

In the World Leaders category, men in Mexico rank number 1 in happiness, with the average happiness on a scale of 1 to 10 is 7.61. Germany is the leader of vacations, since the average person takes about 6.12 weeks off of work each year. Friendship is most sacred in the Philippines, where the number of close friendships a person has is 3.23.

In the World Losers category, on the other hand, the worst statistics are measured. Cancer is killing the most men from Poland, about 250 per 100,000 men. About 62% of Romania is smoking, causing them to rank third in heart disease deaths. China consumes the most junk food, eating about 5.2 meals per week of fast food takeout.

This survey was put together to give men a better understanding of how to live a healthy lifestyle. By taking the advice of the healthiest countries and avoiding the habits of the worst countries, men can change their lifestyles for the better.

Research sources and for more information: [picture]