New research launched by the Movember Foundation reveals nearly half (47%) of men feel they are unable to confide in friends about their problems, compared to 63% of women who do.

This may be attributed to men having fewer social connections. On average, the men who were surveyed said they had three close friends, although nearly a third (27%) said they did not have any close friends or any friends at all.

The research also revealed that these friendships get weaker as they get older with men aged 55+, spending half the amount of time with friends than 16-24-year-olds. Over one in five (22%) men in this 55+ age group said they never saw their friends for a catch up.

Almost two in three men aged 16-24 (67%) would prefer to be known for having a ‘short fuse’ than ‘vulnerable’, and almost half (47%) would rather speak to a salesman for half an hour than a counsellor further highlighting the belief that men are reluctant to talk about their problems and feelings.

A previous study from the University of Harvard has shown that the biggest indicator of long-term health and well-being is the strength of your relationships with family, friends and spouses. According to the study, having someone to rely on has many health benefits, including helping your nervous system relax, your brain stay healthier for longer, and reduces both emotional and physical pain.

The Movember research also found men aren’t creating opportunities to meet up with their friends, for example; nearly two in five never go out for drinks (38%) or food (38%) with their close friends. Further to this when it comes to life challenges, only one in 10 (10%) of men go to family and friends for help when they face a challenge in life.

Owen Sharp, CEO of the Movember Foundation said: “Previous studies have proven that poor social connections have a negative impact on physical and mental health and this has to change. This is what the whole month of Movember is all about and the year-round initiatives we fund to tackle social isolation and loneliness. Three out of the four people who take their own lives every year are men and it’s the biggest killer of men under the age of 44.”

Movember’s annual month-long fundraiser calls on men across the UK to grow a moustache. The campaign aims to not only to raise awareness and funds, but to encourage men to connect with friends and create real change for men’s health. The charity also invests in innovative year-round projects that help foster quality relationships, whilst building the evidence of what works to support men building and maintaining stronger social connections.

One example of this is the Men’s Pie Club in Newcastle; socially isolated men are brought together to learn the skills they need to cook and create great food, as well as an opportunity to build relationships with each other. Another is Brothers Through Boxing in Peterborough, which provides boxing training sessions to young men who are not in employment, education or training, and who are at risk of social isolation and loneliness. Through training and coaching they are able to build social relationships among other young men, leading to a stronger sense of belonging, and a greater ability to stay mentally healthy.

The Movember Foundation is the leading charity dedicated to changing the face of men’s health in the UK and around the world. The foundation recognises that men are dying six years younger than women around the world. It campaigns to ensure that men take their health more seriously and act when necessary, as well as raising funds for vital research to combat prostate cancer, testicular cancer and male suicide. The foundation is aiming to reduce the number of men dying prematurely by 25% by 2030.

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This November, the Movember Foundation returns with its annual month-long fundraiser challenging men across the UK to grow a moustache to raise awareness and funds for men’s health issues.

Now in its 11^th year in the UK, millions of men around the world are encouraged to embrace their handlebars, wisps and everything in-between. Whether flying the flag solo, joining up with friends, work colleagues, sports clubs, schools or universities, growing a moustache is the homegrown version of wearing a ribbon.

To date, through the moustaches grown, connections created, and conversations generated, the Movember Foundation has proudly welcomed over five million supporters and helped fund 1,200 innovative men’s health projects across twenty countries. But there is still much work to be done.

In the UK, the stats are shocking – one in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime, and there are more 333,000 living with the disease. Twelve men a day take their own life, and three out of four suicides are by men. Testicular cancer is the most common cancer in young men and although in most cases the outcome for men with testicular cancer is positive, a 95% chance of survival is no comfort to the one man in twenty who won’t make it.

When it comes to their health, too many men don’t feel like they have the support to talk, don’t act, and die too young.

Men who are planning to join in with Movember should register at www.movember.com and start with a cleanly shaven face at the beginning of the month. After that, it’s as simple as letting a ‘Mo’ grow for the rest of the month, whilst asking for donations. Funds will go on to invest in four key areas: prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health and suicide prevention.

Those who are follicly challenged can alternatively choose to ‘Move a Mo-ment’ to support the charity this year. Participants will need to run or walk 60 kilometres over the month. That’s 60 kilometres for the 60 men we lose to suicide each hour, every hour. There is also the opportunity to ‘Host a Mo-ment’ by organising a get-together to raise much-needed funds for men’s health.

The Movember Foundation is the leading charity dedicated to changing the face of men’s health in the UK and around the world. The foundation recognise that men are dying six years earlier than women due to common health issues such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health and suicide. The foundation is aiming to reduce the number of men dying too young by 25% by 2030.

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Juice drink Um Bongo has created a limited edition of its tropical flavour juice drink in support of the Movember fundraising campaign.

All the Um Bongo characters who appear on pack feature Movember moustaches and there will also be information about the charity and a call to get involved with the month-long Um Bongo activities online.

The Um Bongo Movember packs are available in 1 litre and 1.75 litre formats. 12p from every special edition Movember Um Bongo pack will be donated to the Movember Foundation as well as all sales of Um Bongo Movember drinks sold at the BBC Good Food Show.

The ambient 1 litre packs will be available on promotion from Tesco for £1 during November and the 1.75 litre for £1.20. They will be in-store from 15th October 2016.

James Logan, commercial director of Refresco, which licenses the product, said: “The Um Bongo brand is synonymous with fun and humour.  Most of the purchasers of the brand along with the 40,000 Facebook and twitter fans are ‘first generation’ Um Bongo consumers from the 80’s and 90’s, who are passionate about the brand and have a great sense of humour.  This partnership with the Movember Foundation raises money for the cause in an engaging and fun way which perfectly suits the Um Bongo consumer.”

Refresco is also encouraging its workforce to get behind the Movember initiative, providing Um Bongo Movember t-shirts and promoting staff’s moustache growing progress on social media.  Refresco suppliers SIG Combi Block and Smurfit Kappa have between them donated £6,000 to the Um Bongo Movember fund to kick off the campaign.

The Movember Foundation is a global men’s health charity which raises funds to deliver innovative, breakthrough research and support programmes, mainly around prostate cancer, testicular cancer and suicide prevention, that enable men to live happier, healthier and longer lives.

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Carlsberg has launched a limited edition ‘Beer’d Beauty’ range with profits going to the Movember Foundation.

To celebrate the launch the Beer’d Beauty series and to kick off Movember, Carlsberg teamed up with Ted’s Grooming Room to throw shave-off events across London on Saturday October 31st. Members of the public could visit one of Ted’s nine Grooming Room locations across the capital between 10.00am and 6.00pm, pay 99p for a professional shave worth £22.50 and receive a complimentary Carlsberg.

The range consists of shaving gel, aftershave cream and moustache cream and was developed by a team of scientists from the Carlsberg Laboratories in Denmark. Each of the products in the range contains 200ml of freeze-dried powdered beer, which apparently contains antioxidants, natural oils and antibacterial acids which Carlsberg claims are the perfect ingredients for keeping facial hair in great condition throughout the winter months.

The range is being sold globally through a number of retail partners.

Dharmesh Rana, Carlsberg senior brand manager, says: “Based on the success of our first range of male grooming products, we were keen to bring our new-found expertise to the market once again. This time, we’re doing it for a good cause – Movember is a charity which aligns closely to the values of the Carlsberg brand – and we’re all focused on ensuring this new range is Probably the Best range of male grooming products on the market.”

The Beer’d Beauty range has an RRP of £40.00 for the full set of shaving gel, aftershave cream and moustache cream.

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Müller Wiseman Dairies is teaming up with the Movember Foundation this November to launch a new on-pack promotion, MOOvember, across 500ml cartons and 1 pint bottles of Black & White whole and semi skimmed milk.

Consumers will be encouraged to take the MOOvember milk moustache challenge by enjoying a drink of Black & White milk, taking a selfie of their milk moustache and then uploading the shot to social media with the hashtag #milkmo.

Consumers are also encouraged to donate £2 to the Movember Foundation by texting the word MOVE00 to 70070 or to sign up to grow or MOVE for Movember, the exceptionally popular month-long campaign organised by the Movember Foundation, the leading global organisation committed to changing the face of men’s health.

The foundation challenges men to grow moustaches during November to spark conversation and raise vital funds for its men’s health programs. To date, four million moustaches have been grown worldwide and the campaign has a huge presence on social media.

Rebecca Oliver-Mooney, category and marketing controller at Müller Wiseman Dairies, says: “We are delighted to be working with the Movember Foundation to help promote a very worthy cause. MOOvember is an exciting new initiative encouraging consumers to enjoy our Black & White milk while taking part in something fun and worthwhile.

“Movember is a hugely popular campaign, but not everyone can grow a moustache! The idea of a milk moustache however is iconic and something we can all get involved in. We hope to encourage consumer selfies online with the hashtag #milkmo.”

The promotion will run across 500ml cartons and 1 pint bottles of Black & White whole and semi skimmed milk until the end of November 2015.

This Movember, men and women can sign up at Movember.com to grow moustaches and take on the MOVE challenge for the 30 days of Movember.

The Movember Foundation is a global charity raising funds and awareness for men’s health. These funds deliver breakthrough research and support services to help men live happier, healthier and longer lives.

Since 2003, five million have joined the Movember men’s health movement around the world and raised £400m, funding over 1,000 programmes through impact investments that focus on prostate cancer, testicular cancer, poor mental health and physical inactivity.

Müller UK & Ireland is wholly owned by the Müller Group. It has two business units: Müller Dairy and Müller Wiseman Dairies. It is the UK’s leading branded yogurt manufacturer, with major brands such as Müller Corner, Müllerlight and Müller Rice, makes Cadbury-branded chilled desserts under license from Mondelez and is a leading fresh milk, cream and butter business with dairies and depots throughout the UK.

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