Men's Health Week begins today. How do guys' diets stack up?

National Men's Health Week begins today and wraps up on Father's Day.  Ladies, here's your opportunity to urge the men you love to schedule a physical, cholesterol test, or any other screening exams they may be overdue for, such as a colonoscopy or prostate exam. Although unpleasant, these relatively painless procedures save lives.

Guys, it's also a great chance to take a good look at your lifestyle and nutrition habits and make sure the choices you are making every day are setting you up for a long, healthy, active life.

Here's what guys get right

Although women have a reputation for being more health and diet conscious, men actually do a slightly better job meeting their nutritional needs--statistically speaking, anyway. Of course, men tend to eat a bit more--but they are also more likely to eat actual foods as opposed to the diet sodas and 100-calorie packs of crackers and other highly-processed, nutrient-poor snacks that many women graze on in an effort to control calories.

Men are more likely than women get enough protein, iron, and B12--most likely reflecting greater meat intake. Guys are also doing a better job meeting getting calcium and folic acid in their diet.   This is especially important because men are significantly less likely to take nutritional supplements to fill in the gaps.

Room for improvement

But all is not well in the land of meat and potates.   Men's diets tend to be woefully inadequate in fiber and antioxidant vitamins C and E.  Also, more than 97% of men (and women!) exceed the recommended upper limit for sodium.

Guys, there's another thiing that you seem to be getting too much of: Calories.  Men are about 33% more likely to be overweight or obese, compared with women. 

Steps to take

Eat your vegetables! Increasing your intake of fruits, vegetables, and salads will up your antioxidant and fiber and help you reduce your daily calorie count.

Ease up on the salt.  The best way to reduce the amount of sodium in your diet is to cut back on processed and packaged foods--as these contribute up to 70% of the sodium in the average diet. 

Watch portion sizes.  A 3-ounce serving of meat is about the size of a deck of cards. Steaks and chops served in restaurants may be up to 4 times this size.

For more ideas on how to give your health an upgrade, check out this Blueprint for Men's Health: Guide to a Healthy Lifestyle

References:

Moshfegh, Alanna; Goldman, Joseph; and Cleveland, Linda. 2005.

What We Eat in America

, NHANES 2001-2002: Usual Nutrient. Intakes from Food Compared to Dietary Reference Intakes. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. Access Online.

International Journal of Obesity (2002) 26, 1205