3 Things About a Man’s Health You Should Know

A single dose of a synthetic nasal formulation of the hormone oxytocin may reduce the caloric intake in healthy men, particularly their consumption of fatty foods. Oxytocin also improved metabolic measures, such as insulin sensitivity. Currently, oxytocin nasal spray (made by Novartis) is approved in Europe but not in the US.

25 men (half healthy weight, half overweight or obese) were randomly assigned to self-administer a single dose of 24 IU of either oxytocin nasal spray or a placebo after fasting. 1 hour later, the men ate a controlled amount of food for breakfast. Researchers measured how many calories each man ate. On a separate visit, the men switched treatments.

On average, the men ate 122 fewer calories and 9 grams less fat at the meal after they received oxytocin nasal spray, compared with placebo. Oxytocin also increased use of body fat as a fuel for energy. There was no difference in side effects between oxytocin and placebo. Preclinical studies show oxytocin was involved in appetite-reducing pathways in the brain. But oxytocin had no effect on self-reported appetite or on appetite-regulating hormones measured in the blood. Therefore, oxytocin’s effect on caloric intake remains unclear.

Men who sit ≥10 h/d risk rises in blood sugar, tighter muscles, slower blood flow to the heart, even if they exercise regularly. Those who sit the majority of their waking hours have 2.5x the risk of developing cardiovascular disease-even if they take breaks and exercise regularly, according to a 2012 meta-analysis of nearly 800,000 people.

Plan by Minutes. Sit 20, stand 8 minutes, walk 2. Repeat. Improves health, productivity, posture. Default to a Walk. At a loss at work? Get up and take a 5-minute walk. Research suggests this improves creativity by 60%. Stand When Tired. If you yawn, stand up. This fires the Ascending Reticular Activating System, a network of neurons in the cerebral cortex that enhances alertness. Shift Your Mind-Set. The goal of sitting should be to give the body a break from moving.

A man’s memory and brain volume are worse than a woman’s from age 40 years on Mayo Clinic study: Among 1246 cognitively normal people, aged 30 to 95, memory started to decline for both sexes at age 30, but men’s memory was worse than women’s overall, especially after age 40. A woman’s hippocampus (the brain area that controls memory) and her verbal memory were better than a man’s (this needs some clarification). Protective effects of hormones and less risk of vascular disease put women ahead in the game.

Do aerobic exercise. The biggest benefits come from 30-minute intervals to optimize both aerobic and brain fitness. Stay mentally sharp too; stimulate brain hormones by learning a new language, or develop a new skill such as playing piano or guitar, drawing or painting

Oxytocin in a nasal formulation may help men eat fewer calories, in particular fat calories. A 5-minute walk every hour helps improve blood flow throughout the body. Men tend to have more memory loss than women, particularly as they age.