Here are five true facts about men:

    ? They drink more than women.

    ? They smoke more than women.

    ? They don't live as long as women.

    ? They engage in more high-risk activities than women.

    ? They moan more about having a cold than women （OK, maybe this one isn't a scientifically proven fact. But it's true）.

    So why do they have such a big problem with going to the doctor?

    Even when they are dying of man-flu or hobbling around in agony, making an appointment with the GP is often the last thing that springs to mind. And when they do make it down to the surgery, it's quite often thanks to a pestering woman. This is no way to live.

    There are always excuses reasons as to why going to the doctor is not a good idea. ''What if I am actually dying?'' ''They don't know anything!'' ''What if they ask me to do something I don't want to?'' Some even share the concern of Mark from Peep Show: "But what if I get a hard-on?''

    Can it really be a combination of fear, pride and weakness that is preventing the male population from making that visit? Men can't be so stupid as to put their health at risk for fear of looking fragile - can they?

    To be honest, I used to think that most men just couldn't be bothered. But now, the problem has become so serious that the Men's Health Forum （MHF）, a group set up to raise awareness of men's health, is calling for GP surgeries to become more ''male-friendly''. MHF research has found that men in Britain go to the doctors 20% less than women, not because they have fewer reasons to go, but because they feel ''put off by doctors''.

    Now I can't imagine anyone likes hanging out at their GP's surgery much, but it's interesting to see that the MHF thinks NHS practices are particularly unfriendly towards men. The charity has recently released a statement saying:

    ''The NHS must address men's under-use of GPs as well as their under-use of pharmacies, smoking cessation, weight management services and health trainers and look for ways to develop a gender-sensitive approach to service provison.''

    Mike Shallcross, the deputy editor of Men's Health magazine, explains the gender gap by saying that women have a much healthier relationship with their bodies. ''They see it as a question of maintenance, whereas men see it as a question of repair. Men treat their bodies a bit like a car: once it's burnt out they'll fix it, but until then they power on."

    In fairness to men, women have had more practice at looking after their bodies. Having to deal with periods from an early age, working out how not to get pregnant, how to get pregnant, how to give birth …

    But Dr Ian Banks, the head of the MHF, points out that: ''Women have higher consultation rates for a wide range of illnesses, so the gender differences cannot be explained simply by their need for contraceptive and pregnancy care.''

    Arguably, it's easier for women to get time off work for doctors' appointments. Mention cystitis or thrush to a male boss and they are likely to give you as much time as you need. Whereas unless men have an actual visual physical ailment such as a broken foot or black eye, they probably won't get much sympathy.

    But going to the doctor is something everyone should do, no matter how many apples they eat, or how frustrating it can be to get an appointment. And if men are being put off, or allowing conditions to become worse because of late diagnosis, then something is going wrong.

    Going to the doctor, for the most part, is like having an MOT or a re-fuel - it doesn't mean you're heading for the scrapheap. So let's hope surgeries start making it easier for men to see a doctor - and not just for the sake of their wives and mothers.

    這兒是關于男人的五個事實：

    他們喝酒比女人多。

    他們抽煙比女人多。

    他們不如女人活得長。

    他們比女人更多地從事高風險的活動。

    他們比女人更愛抱怨自己得了感冒（好吧，也許這一條沒有經過科學驗證，但它確實是事實）.

    既然如此，他們為什么還這么不情愿去看醫生？

    即使他們就要死于"男流感"（指男人喜歡夸大病情，得了普通感冒就說是流感--譯者注）或在痛苦中蹣跚，和家庭醫生做個預約仍然是男人最后才會想到的念頭。要是他們最終去趟醫院，那很可能要歸功于一個喋喋不休的女人--這可讓人受不了。

    他們總有借口理由說看醫生不是個好主意。"如果我真要死了怎么辦？""他們什么都不知道！""如果他們讓我做我不想做的事怎么辦？"有些人甚至和情景喜劇《窺視秀》（Peep Show）里的Mark有著同樣的擔心："如果我硬了怎么辦？"

    男人不肯看醫生，真的是恐懼、自傲和軟弱共同作用的結果嗎？男人不會傻到因為害怕顯得弱不禁風，就寧愿把自己的健康置于風險之中吧？他們會嗎？

    說實話，我以前以為大多數男人根本不在乎。但現在問題已經如此嚴重，以至于男性健康論壇（簡稱MHF,一個為了提高人們對男性健康的關注而成立的團體）呼吁家庭醫生診所"對男性更加友好".MHF的研究發現英國男人看醫生的次數比女人少20%,不是因為他們看醫生的理由比較少，而是因為他們感覺"被醫生拖延就診".

    我想象不出有誰會喜歡成為全科醫生手術室的常客，但有趣的是MHF認為英國國民健康保險體系（NHS）對男性尤其不友好。該組織最近發表了一份聲明：

    "NHS必須設法解決男性更少看醫生的問題。同時，男性購買藥品、參加戒煙、體重控制和保健訓練等服務也不足。NHS需要尋求一種考慮到性別的方式來提供服務。"

    《男性健康》雜志的副主編Mike Shallcross在解釋兩性的差異時說，女性與自己的身體之間有著更健康的關系。"女人把這個問題看作是維護，而男人看作維修。男人對待自己身體的方式有點像對待汽車：當汽車熄火了，他們會修理它，但在那之前他們一直開足馬力。"

    為男人說句公道話，女人在照顧自己的身體方面有著更多的練習。她們很早就必須學會應付經期，以及學會避孕、懷孕和生育……

    但MHF的主席Ian Banks醫生指出："女性在多種疾病上都有著更高的就診率，因此性別差異不能簡單地解釋為女性對避孕和孕期護理的需要。"

    還有一點可以為男人辯護：女人更容易從工作中脫身去赴醫生的預約。對男老板說你得了膀胱炎或鵝口瘡，他們很可能允許你想休息多久就休息多久。但對男人來說，除非病情是一眼就能看出的，比如扭了腳或烏眼青，他們不大可能得到太多的同情。

    但看醫生是每個人都應該做的事，不管他們吃多少蘋果，或者預約的過程多么令人沮喪。如果醫生讓男人覺得不爽，或者因為延遲就診就聽任病情變得更糟，那一定是什么地方出了問題。

    在很大程度上，看醫生就像檢修馬達或補充燃料--這并不意味著你就要進入廢物堆了。所以讓我們期待醫院和診所的改進，讓男人能夠更容易地看醫生--不僅僅為了他們的妻子和母親。