A week dedicated to focusing on health, learning more and taking action is ‘Women’s Health Week’, taking place from 5th-9th September. Women are great talkers but when it comes to talking about health it becomes a grey area so this week is all about promoting discussion around specific health issues among women.
This year’s theme is ‘Am I Normal?’ At some stage throughout every woman’s life this question is asked whether it be about size, image, mental health or sex. These questions are completely normal and women should feel comfortable talking about them. Throughout Women’s Health week there is a free online event as well as other live events across the country to encourage women to talk about these issues and to offer advice to assist women.
Jean Hailes Women’s Health have been conducting research to find what women are most concerned about when it comes to their health. A survey of over 3,200 women from all ages revealed these top five issues:
• 23% weight management
• 17% female specific cancers
• 15% mental and emotional health
• 9% menopause
• 8% chronic pain
With these issues in mind how many can you relate to? The biggest concern is weight management and its no wonder with over 11 million women in Australia, more than half of those women are overweight. Most of society wants to loose a few kilograms here and there but why aren’t we doing more?
Often we all throw out the excuses that we are too busy or too tired yet exercising gives you more energy and produces endorphins that trigger a positive feeling, according to WebMD. Taking the initial step is the hardest but with this being a top concern for women’s health, it is an important issue to tackle. Other issues that arose from the research revealed that only 65% of women don’t have regular sexual health checks. This week serves as a reminder to some about getting these important check ups done to ensure the overall health of your body.
Another important issue that was outlined in the survey – talk about mental health “If a woman is in good health, her family, community and the society around her also benefit,” Jean Hailes Women’s Health said.