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Research from the Southern Cross Medical Care Society has revealed considerable differences between men’s and women’s health concerns, as well as the people they turn to when they have health-related problems.
The research showed that the biggest health issue for women is their weight and general appearance, with 52 percent of those questioned saying this was amongst their main concerns. Surprisingly, body image relegated the health of their children (47 percent) to second spot and easily outstripped some of New Zealand’s biggest killers, including cancer (37 percent), heart disease (27 percent) and obesity (20 percent).
In contrast, New Zealand men rated heart disease (40 percent) as their biggest worry. Concern over body image is not, however, the exclusive preserve of women, with fitness (37 percent) and weight and general appearance (36 percent) rounding out the top three for men.
The gender divide is very apparent when adults were asked about their children’s health, with only 26 percent of men raising this as one of their main concerns (compared to 47 percent of women). Neither sex were particularly concerned with sexually transmitted diseases, only five percent of women and six percent of men rating this worthy of mention.
Health concerns by gender:
Weight and appearance
Women 52%
Men 36%
Children's health
Women 47%
Men 26%
Fitness
Women 44%
Men 37%
Stress
Women 40%
Men 35%
Cancer
Women 37%
Men 31%
Sleep quality
Women 29%
Men 24%
Heart disease
Women 27%
Men 40%
High BP
Women 24%
Men 30%
High cholesterol
Women 23%
Men 35%
Obesity
Women 20%
Men 17%
Fertility
Women 12%
Men 6%
STD's
Women 5%
Men 6%
The Southern Cross survey also highlighted a gender divide in who New Zealanders turn to first when they have health concerns.
Fifty percent of males would discuss their concerns with their partner first, with a further 30 percent saying they would initially turn to their doctor. This compares to only 44 percent of women who would discuss it with their partner and 21 percent with their doctor.
New Zealand women on the other hand are far more likely than men to turn to their parents (15 percent compared to eight percent), or their friends (12 percent compared to seven percent).
Siblings are left in the dark by both sexes with only two percent of women and one percent of men turning first to their brother or sister, which is less than work colleagues who rated one percent with women and four percent with men.
The survey of 867 New Zealand women and 625 New Zealand men aged 20+ was conducted by TNS Conversa in late 2008.
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