{"id":3039,"date":"2018-06-16T14:16:31","date_gmt":"2018-06-16T18:16:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theiyafoundation.org\/?p=3039"},"modified":"2020-02-08T15:04:58","modified_gmt":"2020-02-08T20:04:58","slug":"menshealth-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theiyafoundation.org\/2018\/06\/16\/menshealth-2\/","title":{"rendered":"My Papa, Me, and Men\u2019s Health"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"My<\/a>

My Papa, in dapper shades \ud83d\ude42 surrounded by some of his love ones.<\/p><\/div>\n

By Iya Bekondo-Granatella, Founder of the Iya Foundation Inc.<\/p>\n

Its been over 10 years since I lost my Papa. Every so often I think about him and what our relationship would have been like as mature adults. When I face challenges with men, I miss him even more so as I yearn to seek his advise. What would Papa say? What would Papa think of this? I really do wish my Papa was still here to celebrate my milestones and achievements and also just to reassure me that all is indeed well. I am however consoled by the fact that I strive to perform my very best in all that I do, and believe that wherever he is, he\u2019s smiling down on me with pride.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Papa transitioned while I was still in my early 20s. He\u2019s passing as a result of complications from diabetes.<\/b> Papa was just one of 422 million people worldwide who suffer from diabetes. Unfortunately, diabetes of all types can lead to complications in many parts of the body and increase the overall risk of dying prematurely.<\/div>\n
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As a matter of fact, diabetes is the number one leading cause of kidney failure world wide.<\/b> Sadly, the prevalence of diabetes has been steadily increasing for the past 3 decades according to the World Health Organization, mirroring an increase in the prevalence of obesity and overweight in people as well. This increase is particularly significant in low and middle income countries like Cameroon.<\/div>\n
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The rate of diabetes in men is much higher than that in women. In a 2014 data provided by menshealthnetwork.org, the rate of diabetes in men is 25.6 as opposed to 17.2 in women.<\/div>\n
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Heart disease and hypertension, the second leading cause of kidney failure, also happens to be prevalent in men than women, at a rate of 210.9 to 131.8 in women.<\/b> Men are also at risk of suicide at a higher rate of 20.7 to 5.8 in women. In general, I regret to reference that, men have a significantly higher death rate for most of the leading causes of death.<\/div>\n
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The following are some of the reasons, according to Mens Health Network, why men are at higher risk:<\/div>\n
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