"When is a man a man?" - A song under the magnifying glass
Herbert Grönemeyer's hit "Männer" will be 40 years old next year - a decisive age for (some) men. Some have their receding hairline removed, others stop smoking. To mark World Men's Day on November 19, let's take a closer look at some of the theses from "Männer".
"Men get thin hair"
Whether Jürgen Klopp, Elon Musk or Christian Lindner: men want to be beautiful and those with "thin hair" are increasingly having hair transplants.
According to figures from the German Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (DGÄPC), which were made available to the German Press Agency in advance, hair transplants accounted for around 7.1 percent of all aesthetic plastic treatments in Germany this year. This was 5.3 percentage points more than in the two previous years. The DGÄPC statistics for 2023 will be officially published on November 30.
According to these statistics, hair transplants for men climbed from 15th place among the most popular procedures in Germany to 5th place - a record. A look at the different generations also shows that transplants are particularly popular among men up to the age of 50.
The procedure was first described by the German surgeon Johann Friedrich Dieffenbach at the beginning of the 19th century, according to Alexander Hilpert, a specialist in plastic, reconstructive and aesthetic surgery and President of the DGÄPC.
However, hair restoration was long associated with a great deal of shame in Germany. It wasn't until around ten years ago that soccer coach Jürgen Klopp was one of the first to take it in his stride: "Yes, it's true, I've had a hair transplant. And I think the result turned out pretty cool, don't you?" he said in 2013. In other countries, however, this hasn't been too much of an issue for a long time, says Hilpert.
"Men are terribly smart"
Being smart can mean many things. Take a look at the student statistics, for example: According to the Federal Statistical Office, there were more than 2.9 million students in Germany in the 2022/23 winter semester. This means that slightly fewer men (49.8 percent) than women (50.2 percent) were enrolled.
When Grönemeyer's song "Männer" came out in 1984, things looked very different: In the winter semester of 1983/1984, just under 1.27 million students were enrolled in what was then West Germany, according to the Federal Statistical Office. The proportion of men at that time was more than 60 percent.
However, the figures show that over the years, it is not fewer men who have opted for an academic career, but rather more and more women, so that today women have even overtaken men.
"Men get a heart attack"
According to the Federal Statistical Office, around 45,000 people died of heart attacks in Germany in 2021 - 60 percent of them men.
After the Second World War, the number of heart attacks in Western countries reached epidemic proportions. The World Health Organization (WHO) therefore decided to take action against this in the 1980s. By monitoring around 13 million affected people in 21 countries, the aim was to clarify whether heart attack prevention actually leads to lower death rates.
According to the WHO, the mortality rate among men in some of the countries studied has actually fallen slightly, mainly thanks to prevention. "If you look at the data, you can see that the biggest contribution to the decline in heart attack mortality amongmen comes from the decline in smoking," the study states. However, medical progress has also contributed to the decline.
According to the Federal Statistical Office, most people in Germany still die from cardiovascular diseases, including heart attacks. However, the chance of surviving a heart attack is higher than in the 1980s.
"Men smoke (pipe)"
In general, fewer people smoke today than 40 years ago. "Since around the 1980s, the proportion of smokers in the adult population has declined slightly," according to the Federal Ministry of Health. According to the report, 23.8 percent of adults in Germany smoke. At around 27 percent, men are more likely to smoke than women, who smoke at around 21 percent.
According to the Federal Statistical Office, the largest proportion of smokers in 2021 were in the 35 to 40 age group. Around 30 percent of this age group smoked.
In light of World Men's Day on November 19, we can reflect on the increase in hair transplants among men, making it the 5th most popular aesthetic plastic treatment in Germany this year, according to the German Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (DGÄPC). This shifts from hair transplants being in 15th place just three years ago.
Musically, we can appreciate the words of Herbert Grönemeyer in his song "Männer," released in 1984, where he notes, "Men get thin hair." This theme resonates with the trend noticed in the data, showing an increase in male hair transplants.
Source: www.dpa.com
