Our favorite men’s health advocates are on the road again. Doctors Brahmbhatt and Parekattil are crossing the country for the third time in an all-electric Tesla sedan.
They’re driving from Florida to Los Angeles, stopping along the way to talk, and Tweet, and Periscope, and Facebook with men.
They have a simple message: Take care of your body as well as you do your car. Get regular maintenance checks, and don’t ignore the warning light when something needs fixing.
Surveys show men don’t go to the doctor as often as women, and are not as forthcoming when they do. That has real consequences for their health.
Jamin Brahmbhatt, MD, Drive for Men’s Health: Guys are lagging way behind women. If you look at the life expectancy gap, it's five years between men and women. [Out of the] top 10 causes of death, men are more likely to die of 9 of them.
Dr. Gupta: Steven Parkes, a Florida firefighter, is a pretty typical example. At 35, he didn’t even have a regular doctor.
Steven Parkes: I just kept pushing it off, thinking, "I’m 35 years old, you know. I’m healthy as can be. I work out all the time."
Dr. Gupta: Then he was faced with a serious health emergency: testicular cancer. After his surgery, he encouraged all his fellow firefighters to get checked.
Steven Parkes: Given the opportunity, I was going to share this with as many people as possible, because I was one of those guys who didn’t think it would happen to me or that I would ever get sick.
Dr. Gupta: Drs. Brahmbhatt and Parekattil are doctors, but they’re also men. And they admit they didn’t always follow their own advice. So this year, they’re trying to walk the walk.
Dr. Brahmbhatt: We are actually going to have personal trainers with us on the entire journey. We’re going to have dietitians coaching us on what to eat and what not to eat.
Dr. Gupta: So far, they’ve lost a combined 90 pounds.
[Source: Dr. Sanjay Gupta]
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