An article in the Boston Globe yesterday suggests that men may have a lot to learn from women when it comes to health. New research indicates that the ‘tough guy’ attitude is a key factor in gendered health disparities. 

“In American society, what does a real man do? A real man doesn’t show weakness,” said David R. Williams, a medical sociologist at the Harvard School of Public Health. “It leads a lot of men to not take preventive action for their health, to deny pain and seek medical attention only when the problem is much more severe.”

A richly detailed portrait of Bay Staters’ health, released earlier this month, proves the point – and provides stark evidence of a persistent divide between the genders. In category after category, women do a better job of taking care of their health. They smoke less and drink less, and they’re less likely to be overweight. They eat more fruits and vegetables. They have their cholesterol tested more regularly.

One especially telling finding: While men more frequently reported being diagnosed with high blood pressure, they were actually less likely than women to take drugs to tame it.

But what can men learn from women?

“Men can learn a lot from women,” said Dr. JoAnn Manson, chief of preventive medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “We know that some of our health awareness campaigns about the risk of smoking and the risk of binge drinking have to do a better job of being gender-specific.”

That could translate into initiatives centered in the workplace that, perhaps, promise lower insurance premiums for men – and women – who adopt healthy behaviors. And, at home, families could be encouraged to exercise together and share healthier meals.

There is hope that as traditional gender roles continue to shift – as more men, for example, assume family responsibilities historically associated with women – the gender divide will narrow.

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