Late July of this year, the Government of Canada announced that it will be investing $519,400 in an initiative to promote healthy habits in men and help prevent chronic diseases.
Men are at an increased risk of death due to heart disease, cancer and complications from diabetes. This is partially due to the fact that most lifestyle-related risk factors—including smoking, overuse of alcohol, physical inactivity and obesity—are more prevalent among this sex.
Fortunately, many of these risks can be reduced. With their new Don’t Change Much intervention program, the Canadian Men’s Health Foundation and Health Canada will empower men to make and sustain behavioural changes to lessen the threat of developing chronic diseases.
This online program will provide a virtual intervention that is anonymous and easy-to-use. Once launched, participants will be able to select from five negative health behaviours (diet, sleep, alcohol consumption, physical activity and smoking) and various timeframes in which to make changes to correct these issues. Personalized feedback and customized health reminders will be provided to users throughout the entire process.
The program is expected to launch in Spring 2017, and will be available with a corresponding mobile app to track activities.
