“Blue Monday” to Kick off Men’s Health Week with a Bang

Need a reason to love Mondays? This year, June 15 offers plenty of them.

If you haven’t yet heard, Canadian Men’s Health Week is coming up the week before Father’s Day and is bringing together families coast to coast for a great cause.

As part of the kick-off to Men’s Health Week in Canada, which coincides with Men’s Health Month in the US, the Michigan Institute of Urology’s Men’s Health Foundation has proudly proclaimed June 15 to be the inaugural “Blue Monday.”

This is no ordinary weekday. Its aim is to enhance men’s health engagement, education and advocacy; demonstrate a dedicated interest in the men’s health movement; and encourage health conversations between fathers and sons to create a legacy of health between generations.

Like other advocacy campaigns, the centrepiece of Blue Monday involves a supportive fashion statement. Anyone who’d like to support the men in their lives can dress in blue: Send the kids off to school in Toronto Blue Jays T-shirts, wear that spiffy navy blazer to work, and make sure to complement your significant other on his or her snazzy azure socks. Men are also encouraged to work some exercise into their day; see a doctor for a check-up; prepare a healthy meal or have one at restaurant; talk with their sons about the importance of good health; or simply educate themselves about maintaining healthy lifestyles.

On that note, Canadian Men’s Health Week offers a similarly compelling, and simple, way to support men’s health in Canada. The campaign is calling on guys across the country to commit to making four simple lifestyle changes that can help them feel better and live healthier lives: Take the stairs instead of the escalator, choose salad as a side dish, get off the bus one stop earlier, and eat more broccoli. One click or tap at CanadianMensHealthWeek.ca is all it takes to join the social movement in celebration of men’s health. Then they can share their support on Twitter of Facebook by posting a photo of themselves performing a healthy behaviour using the #MensHealthWeek hashtag.

But it doesn’t stop there. Guys can take their pledges to the next level by recording selfie videos and challenging friends and family to embrace stairs, short strolls and salads. (Men’s health Champions Simon Whitfield, Trevor Linden, Adam Kreek, Shea Emry, Alain Vigneault, Jim Hughson and Ned Bell are taking the lead on this; to see Hughson’s clip, click here.)

So why not put it all together? Wear blue on June 15, click to show your support of CanadianMensHealthWeek.ca, and then shoot a clip of you challenging a buddy to do likewise!