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.

    这儿是关于男人的五个事实：

    他们喝酒比女人多。

    他们抽烟比女人多。

    他们不如女人活得长。

    他们比女人更多地从事高风险的活动。

    他们比女人更爱抱怨自己得了感冒（好吧，也许这一条没有经过科学验证，但它确实是事实）.

    既然如此，他们为什么还这么不情愿去看医生？

    即使他们就要死于"男流感"（指男人喜欢夸大病情，得了普通感冒就说是流感--译者注）或在痛苦中蹒跚，和家庭医生做个预约仍然是男人最后才会想到的念头。要是他们最终去趟医院，那很可能要归功于一个喋喋不休的女人--这可让人受不了。

    他们总有借口理由说看医生不是个好主意。"如果我真要死了怎么办？""他们什么都不知道！""如果他们让我做我不想做的事怎么办？"有些人甚至和情景喜剧《窥视秀》（Peep Show）里的Mark有着同样的担心："如果我硬了怎么办？"

    男人不肯看医生，真的是恐惧、自傲和软弱共同作用的结果吗？男人不会傻到因为害怕显得弱不禁风，就宁愿把自己的健康置于风险之中吧？他们会吗？

    说实话，我以前以为大多数男人根本不在乎。但现在问题已经如此严重，以至于男性健康论坛（简称MHF,一个为了提高人们对男性健康的关注而成立的团体）呼吁家庭医生诊所"对男性更加友好".MHF的研究发现英国男人看医生的次数比女人少20%,不是因为他们看医生的理由比较少，而是因为他们感觉"被医生拖延就诊".

    我想象不出有谁会喜欢成为全科医生手术室的常客，但有趣的是MHF认为英国国民健康保险体系（NHS）对男性尤其不友好。该组织最近发表了一份声明：

    "NHS必须设法解决男性更少看医生的问题。同时，男性购买药品、参加戒烟、体重控制和保健训练等服务也不足。NHS需要寻求一种考虑到性别的方式来提供服务。"

    《男性健康》杂志的副主编Mike Shallcross在解释两性的差异时说，女性与自己的身体之间有着更健康的关系。"女人把这个问题看作是维护，而男人看作维修。男人对待自己身体的方式有点像对待汽车：当汽车熄火了，他们会修理它，但在那之前他们一直开足马力。"

    为男人说句公道话，女人在照顾自己的身体方面有着更多的练习。她们很早就必须学会应付经期，以及学会避孕、怀孕和生育……

    但MHF的主席Ian Banks医生指出："女性在多种疾病上都有着更高的就诊率，因此性别差异不能简单地解释为女性对避孕和孕期护理的需要。"

    还有一点可以为男人辩护：女人更容易从工作中脱身去赴医生的预约。对男老板说你得了膀胱炎或鹅口疮，他们很可能允许你想休息多久就休息多久。但对男人来说，除非病情是一眼就能看出的，比如扭了脚或乌眼青，他们不大可能得到太多的同情。

    但看医生是每个人都应该做的事，不管他们吃多少苹果，或者预约的过程多么令人沮丧。如果医生让男人觉得不爽，或者因为延迟就诊就听任病情变得更糟，那一定是什么地方出了问题。

    在很大程度上，看医生就像检修马达或补充燃料--这并不意味着你就要进入废物堆了。所以让我们期待医院和诊所的改进，让男人能够更容易地看医生--不仅仅为了他们的妻子和母亲。