The health checks your dad won't book himself (and how to help him)
This year, Father's Day falls on the very last day of Men's Health Week. This is a genuine opportunity to do something useful.
Men's Health Week runs from 15 to 21 June 2026. Its purpose, organised by the Men's Health Forum, is to shine a light on preventable health problems that affect men disproportionately, and to encourage men to seek help sooner rather than later. Father's Day on 21 June is the emotional full stop at the end of that week - a day we already set aside to think about the men who matter most to us.
Put the two together, and you have a powerful prompt. Not to lecture anyone. Not to be alarmist. But to have an honest, caring conversation about the health of the dads, brothers, partners, and sons in your life, and maybe even your own.
Why this matters more than you might think
The statistics around men's health in the UK are genuinely striking. One in five men dies before the age of 65 (Men's Health Forum). The leading causes of death in men are cardiovascular disease, cancer, and unnatural deaths - including suicide and accidents. Around three quarters of suicides registered in England and Wales are male, according to ONS data. And 50 percent of men have struggled with their mental health at some point in their lives. Yet fewer than half have sought medical advice (Mates in Mind, 2026).
The problem isn't only mental health. Prostate cancer is now the most diagnosed cancer in the UK, with more than 64,000 men diagnosed every year, and 1 in 8 men expected to receive that diagnosis in their lifetime (Prostate Cancer UK, 2026). Most cases show no symptoms in the early stages, which is precisely why early conversation with a GP matters so much.
And yet, according to the 2024 GP Patient Survey for England, only 38 percent of men had a GP appointment in the past three months, compared with 48 percent of women. A 2024 study in Trends in Urology and Men's Health noted that men accessing healthcare later - sometimes far too late - is one of the most persistent patterns in primary care.
There's no single villain here. It isn't purely cultural, though stoicism clearly plays a role. Practical barriers are real too: difficulty getting an appointment, not wanting to make a fuss, being "too busy," or simply finding it hard to take that first step through a GP's door. What's clear is that the barriers exist, they matter, and they are worth gently dismantling - especially for the people we care about most.
The 5 health checks worth raising this Father's Day
You don't need a serious conversation to make a difference. Sometimes the most helpful thing is simply knowing which questions to raise and doing it in a relaxed moment rather than waiting for a crisis. Here are five things worth encouraging the men in your life to investigate.
1. Blood pressure High blood pressure, or hypertension, affects millions of people in the UK and has no obvious symptoms. Many people live with it for years without knowing. It significantly raises the risk of heart attack, stroke, and kidney damage. The good news? It's one of the easiest things to check, and a GP can do it in minutes. Read more about understanding your blood pressure in Livi's expert guide.
2. Cholesterol Like blood pressure, high cholesterol tends not to announce itself. A simple blood test is all it takes to find out where things stand. And if cholesterol is raised, there are proven lifestyle changes that can help bring it down. You can read about cholesterol and what affects it in Livi's health hub.
3. Prostate health Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK. It is also one of the most treatable when caught early. Men over 50, men with a family history of prostate cancer, and Black men - whose lifetime risk is 1 in 4 - are particularly encouraged to speak to their GP about their risk and options. Livi's doctor's guide to prostate cancer is a good starting point.
4. Mental health This one rarely comes with obvious physical symptoms, which makes it easy to overlook - especially in men, where depression can present differently than the textbook version. Irritability, withdrawal, changes in sleep or appetite, turning to alcohol - these can all be signs that something is going on beneath the surface. A conversation matters. A GP appointment matters more.
5. General health MOT Sometimes the most useful thing is simply talking to a GP with no specific agenda - just checking in. For men who haven't seen a doctor in a while, a general consultation can surface things that otherwise go unnoticed. It doesn't need to be a big event.
How to have the conversation
Here's the tricky bit. If the man in your life is anything like most men, he's not going to book a health check because you've sent him an article. But research consistently shows that encouragement from someone close - a partner, a child, a sibling - is one of the most effective motivators for men to seek help.
A few approaches that tend to work better than a lecture:
· Lead with care, not alarm. "I just want to know you're okay" lands very differently from "you never go to the doctor, and it worries me." The first is an invitation. The second often triggers defensiveness.
· Use the occasion. Father's Day gives you a genuinely natural opening. A card, a call, a conversation over lunch. You don't need a clinical context to say, "I love you and I want you around for a long time."
· Make it easy. Offer to help book an appointment. For many men, the hardest part isn't the appointment itself, it's making that first contact. Being able to consult a GP from home, on your phone, at a time that suits you, removes that barrier entirely. There's no waiting room, no receptionist, no having to take time off work. Livi GP appointments can be made quickly from anywhere, in the comfort and privacy of your own home which can feel a lot less daunting than walking into a surgery. Removing that friction is often half the battle.
· Normalise it. Talking about health shouldn't feel like an intervention. The more we treat it as a normal, regular thing - like going to the dentist - the less loaded it becomes.
This year, make Father's Day count twice
Men's Health Week exists because awareness leads to action, and action saves lives. Father's Day exists because we want to celebrate the men who've shaped us. In 2026, those two things land on the same day.
That's a gift. Use it.
If you're not sure where to start, you can see a Livi GP quickly and easily - from your sofa, your car, wherever works for you - no waiting room required. Or explore Livi's men's health guides for more on the conditions and conversations that matter most.
