E103-Unhealthy men should stop shopping in IKEA

In this short but insightful episode I share my thoughts on why physically overweight men in the UK make weekend pilgrimages to shopping outlets, in this case, IKEA.

This week I myself visited IKEA'S Nottingham outlet to purchase their well known shelving units and witnessed a deluge of overweight to obese men between the ages of approximately 20 to 60 years of age.

As a professional Personal Trainer, my optics generally gauge the amount of excess bodyweight and or body fat a person is carrying, of which the current state of personal physical health among men in the UK is rapidly increasing to startling levels.

There may be a multitude of factors, as to why low barrier to entry shopping outlets are popular with unhealthy men, however in this particular discussion, I'll contribute my reasoning, that of a possible distraction from poor health and of course IKEA's carefully planned out structure of it's retail stores. The colorful grotto like sections make a welcome, short term alleviation, from the chronic discomfort and even painful acceptance of physiological disorders and or disease.

Consider this comparison....a smoker uses nicotine gum or patches in his quest for eventual cessation of guaranteed health decline, in the way of cancer, coronary heart disease and organ failure. A man addicted to alcohol consumption might turn to exercise or join a therapy group in his journey towards sobriety.

Both smoking and alcohol addictions are seriously damaging to men's quality of life and as such we take steps to undoing the aforementioned health implications, but obesity is considered by some a touchy or 'off limits' subject to broach with a friend, family member or work colleague, largely due to it's connection to low levels of emotional or academic intelligence.

This commonplace and socially awkward conversation can give rise to unchecked health readings, by way of avoiding GP visits, or good intention based enquiries from loved ones. Months can lead to years of borderline indifference to expanding waistlines and shortness of breath, to name but a few.

So, what we now have are swathes of 20 to 60 something year old's frequenting shopping retail parks in search of that colorful distraction from their inevitable decline in health.

A final word of encouragement from me gents...yes you should still from time to time indulge in a bit of retail therapy, only after you have invested in your physical and mental improvements first. Trust me, the new furniture or shiny new kitchen units will undoubtedly feel better with less unwanted body fat and a stronger, healthier heart.

Please feel free to share my musings with someone you think might benefit from any one of the catalogue of episodes.

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