Niki Bezzant: If you're a man, you're probably overweight

Opinion

Most men in New Zealand are overweight.

We have a bigger problem (pun intended) than most countries. New Zealand is ranked third in the OECD in obesity, with almost 70 per cent of men in New Zealand either overweight or obese.

It's no longer something we can think of as being about others. It is all around us, whatever community we live in.

June is Men's Health Month. The theme this year is #MenStartTalking.

The promoters say it's "time to have a think about our health and how important it is, to start talking about it with our mates, families and doctors, and to do something for ourselves to be just a little bit healthier".

This is a great initiative.

I'm obviously not privy to any male-only conversations, but I suspect when men get together, not much of the chat revolves around healthy eating or looking after your body.

I also suspect in general men tend not to think about their health very much, often only addressing issues when something goes badly wrong.

I've heard it said men treat their bodies like an old car - thrashing it without doing much in the way of maintenance, until one day the engine blows up.

Being overweight is one of those things that creeps up on us.

A sadly predictable function of ageing, we don't need to eat or drink a lot more, over a few years, to see the kilos piling on.

Young men can often get away with eating whatever they like without weight gain. The slowing down of the metabolism and loss of muscle mass doesn't hit, often, until middle age.

Men may notice this less than women, too, who have more pressure on them from a culture focused on appearance. And with so many men overweight, being bigger can seem normal in the context of everyone we see around us.

Unfortunately that doesn't make it any less of a health risk.

When men gain weight, it tends to be around the middle.

This belly fat is particularly worrying because it's often visceral fat - dangerous fat that sits around the organs and increases your risk of cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, colorectal cancer, sleep apnoea, high blood pressure and premature death from any cause.

Taking action to address this is the key not only to feeling better, in the short term, but to living longer.

How do you know if this is a problem? Start by measuring your waist (at roughly belly button level).

If your waist measures more than half your height, you probably have too much belly fat.

Dealing with this need not mean drastic dieting. Small changes can help, like cutting portion sizes.

Men in their 50s need about 200 fewer daily calories (840kJ) than men in their 30s.

That's roughly the equivalent of 3 slices of white bread, half a meat pie or one and a half beers. Start there. Replace any of those with colourful veges and you'll be making a healthy, potentially life-extending change.

For more information on Men's Health Month, see menshealthnz.org.nz

Niki Bezzant is editor-at-large of Healthy Food Guide.