Get Moving in Movember

Last night at a meeting of my local squash organization we were debriefing on our annual Women’s Squash Week #WSW2015. The purpose of these events held across Greater Vancouver is to expose women and girls to the sport and encourage their participation. At one point during the discussion someone shared that at her community centre, a man approached her and asked “where’s the event for men”?

We realized that while we want more women and girls to play in a sport whose participants are primarily men, we shouldn’t forget that there are other guys out there who may enjoy and benefit from this activity.

Physical inactivity is a significant risk factor for chronic disease. While men may outpace us gals in some areas, we’re rocking life expectancy and we have better health outcomes. Along with increasing evidence of the benefits of physical activity the efforts to increase participation by women and girls in physical activity and sport have been on the rise. Campaigns such as #ThisGirlCan and #LikeAGirl have stepped in to encourage and inspire us to get active and adjust stereotypes with messaging that is playful and light-hearted.

Health promotion experts have realized that a similar approach needs to be taken for men. Guys like messaging that’s straight-forward and has a positive tone. Movember has really dominated this space in fundraising through their irreverent messaging and “cool” factor and now they’re taking it into health promotion, focusing last year on men’s mental health and this year adding on physical activity.

In 2015, their challenge to us is to move more for 30 days #MOVEforMovember. They’ve taken a simple message of 30 MOVEs for 30 days and (pardon the pun) ran with it, developing a campaign that raises awareness of the value of physical activity while nudging us to move more.

Closer to home, in 2014 the Canadian Men’s Health Foundation launched #dontchangemuch that takes the approach that small changes in lifestyle can have big impacts in a guy’s health. An easy to navigate website with engaging, to-the-point messages work to encourage change in the right direction.

More recently, BCAHL and the Canadian Cancer Society, BC and Yukon Division have piloted Working on Wellness (WoW) – a workplace health promotion program targeted at men in industrial and resource sector workplaces. WoW brings messaging and activities that encourage healthy living to decrease health risks.

WoW materials and program delivery are designed for men in this environment, where work is fast-paced and hands-on. They’ve developed a tailored version of WellnessFits (wellnessfits.ca) materials with the tagline “Take Care of your Equipment”.

This November, whether or not we sport a mo’, let’s encourage the guys in our life to get their MOve on.

Anna Kirbyson
Physical Activity Partnerships Coordinator
November 2015