Dave O'Riordan, 38, IT contractor, Woodbridge
I worry about my health quite a lot. I'm always looking up my symptoms on the internet. You get lots of conflicting evidence on the web, everything from "You're going to die" to "There's nothing wrong with you". I think I started worrying more about my health after my son, Harry, was born. Your sense of mortality kicks in when you have your first child.

Just after Christmas, I woke up in the middle of the night with a choking feeling, so I went to the doctor for some tests. He said I might have asthma. I had a whole load of tests. Eventually they put me on a course of asthma drugs for a month. It made no difference. I told my doctor that I'm still able to go for a half-hour run in the gym, so he said "Well, you're all right then." Now I only take the puffer occasionally. Another time when I had shortness of breath and a cough, I looked up the symptoms on the internet. They seemed to match those of cardiomyopathy, so I went to my GP with the evidence, but he just laughed and told me there was nothing wrong with me.

I'm a sucker for medical tests. Yesterday I had a cholesterol test. I found out that my cholesterol is way high, so I have to change my diet now - I'll have to give up things like pastries. But I'm not overweight, and I do a lot of exercise. I go to the gym, I cycle, run, sail and play tennis. I eat my five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, but I also eat a lot of crap, and I drink a lot. As an IT contractor, I'm often away from home, and I end up eating a lot of junk.

I've had a whole range of NHS treatments by walking into casualty and telling them I've got chest pains. They triage you, and you go to the front of the queue and get a battery of tests. Last year I had some really bad headaches while I was working away from home, so I went to casualty at the local hospital. I told them my symptoms, and they immediately sent me for a brain scan. Some people have been waiting for months for those, and I had it done there and then. It all came out clear, so you think, well, that's another area checked off.

My wife thinks I'm a hypochondriac, but on the other hand, I think she's quite pleased that I care about my health because most men don't.

Jaswinder Dhamu, 45, book dealer, north London
I'm not that careful about what I eat, but I find that in my 40s my body has started to tell me when I've had enough. If I overeat one day, I'll eat hardly anything the next day. When I was younger, I had to really try and control it more. After 43, your body starts to decline and overeating is the worst thing you can do to it. I have an Indian meal at least once a day.

I'm not a big fruit eater, but I enjoy bananas and the occasional apple. But what I have found is that I need to eat lamb about once a week to keep my iron levels up.

I'm a lapsed member of a fitness club. I play squash once a week; if not, I try to do something else. Generally, I try to do at least one fitness activity a week. I don't use the car as much now, so I tend to walk more.

I never go to the doctor unless I've broken something. I've never visited a doctor for a cough or cold. I've developed this mental approach to health. When I'm feeling under the weather, mentally I can push myself through. I just tell myself I'm fine and I get on with it. If you feel strong mentally, you can pull yourself through physically.

I gave up drinking when I was 27. I had begun suffering physically from drinking - not just the hangovers; I was putting on weight and getting pains in my chest. I chose my nephew's first birthday to stop because I thought it would be a good marker. He was 18 a couple of months ago.

Jamal Wallace, 13, student, south London
Boys of my age think they're invincible. They don't care if they eat lots of junk food. The worst thing is, just across the road from my school, there's a McDonald's, so you're always tempted. A lot of children from my school go there - I go maybe once a month.It's a place to meet up.

I don't think boys worry enough about their health nowadays. In Britain, we've got the second highest rate for obesity in the world.

I play basketball to keep fit. When I get older I'm going to start going to the gym. We've got a gym at my school, but at my age we are not really allowed to use much of the equipment, just some of the light hand-weights. We can use the running machine, the rowing machine, and the static bicycles, but we're not allowed to use the heavier weights or any of the weight machines.

I worry about my health sometimes, like, I think I look too big. If I look good, then I feel good. I try to eat healthily, but I don't always manage to. I'm into my salads at the moment. The other day in food technology we made a caesar salad. I really liked it, so I'm going to start making it at home. They teach us a lot about what's healthy for you in food tech and science. I like to try out some of the ideas at home.

I'm quite healthy, but I do get colds a lot. Whenever it's school holidays, I get a cold. I don't know why. I always get hay fever and winter colds, but I don't go to the doctor straight away. It's not that I'm scared of doctors...

I am scared of dentists, though. If I know that I have to have an injection, I start to worry. A few weeks ago, I had my BCG injection. That went OK, but it's going to scar. I couldn't have that again.

Simon Finlay, 27, construction manager, Liverpool
I don't generally worry about health that much, but when I look at my dad's family, there's a problem with unhealthy hearts. There's a lot more awareness about health nowadays. In my parents' days there probably wasn't as much awareness about smoking as there is now. But a lot of the health advice we get today is confusing because it's always contradicting itself. Like with the Atkins diet. I tried it for about four days, but I didn't like it because I felt all clogged up. But my mum and dad did it and they felt great. Then, towards the end of last year people started saying that it does bad things to your kidneys if you do it for sustained periods.

I was chubby as a kid, but in my late teens I lost a lot of weight. I was playing football four or five times a week. Then I went to university and did the same thing. The only problem was I got glandular fever three or four weeks after I arrived. The doctor told me you can't drink, play contact sports, or go near women for three months. I thought: what the hell am I supposed to do? I've just got to university! Apart from an occasional bout of flu, I've been quite healthy since then.

I don't think you can ever be too cautious about what you are doing to your body. Probably some people worry about things too much, but there are men who give their bodies no consideration as well, but I think both are extremes. Generally, I think men are conscious of their health, but they worry more about their appearance.

Don Faulkner, 67, retired, Worcester
In December 1999 I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I had been ignoring symptoms for more than a year. I went to the doctor one Friday morning. He said, "What can I do for you, Mr Faulkner?" I took off my shirt and he said, "You've got breast cancer." Just like that. I had chemotherapy for nearly six months and radiotherapy for six weeks. I had a hole in my chest you could fit the top of a coffee mug into. The nipple area had dropped out because everything went rotten. It was a shock when I was diagnosed. I hadn't been to a doctor for over 20 years - you can't afford to when you're self-employed. I was a sales rep for fishing-tackle manufacturers for 35 years, but after I was diagnosed with cancer, I lost my job.

I think it's in the male psyche to stay away from doctors as long as possible. I learned this to my cost. If I have anything wrong with me from now on I shall be down at the doctor. When you reach retirement age, you've got a couple of sheets on your doctor's file, but by the time you're 66, it's about two volumes thick. You get trouble with your blood pressure, your knees start to go. I certainly wouldn't leave it late again. I got the thin end of my wife's tongue when she found out how long it had been going on for. I left it too long. If I had left it another week, I wouldn't be sitting here now.

I think most men don't believe in GPs. We can cure it ourselves. I've always been pretty phlegmatic anyway. Years ago, when I worked for Cadbury cakes, that was the first thing they drummed into us: when you go see a retailer, you have to have a positive mental attitude. You smile even if it's the worst day's sales you've had in 10 weeks. It does help. It doesn't cure it, I must admit. But this is what the Macmillan nurses where I was undergoing treatment encouraged: a positive mental attitude.

Robin Ross, 55, artist and decorator, west London
For most of my life I've managed to avoid GPs, but in the last year I've been twice. If I've got a cut or a blister, or some other work-related injury, I go straight to outpatients, because that's where your doctor will send you anyway. I'm not really a GP man. But I went to the doctor because I had a sore throat, and I gave up smoking because of that. I'd been smoking since the age of 18, so it was quite a thing to give up. The doctor gave me antibiotics for my sore throat, and said, "If you smoke, pack it up." I feel a hell of a lot better for having stopped. Your palate suddenly becomes alive again. And my cricket's improved. Before I could do three runs and I would be really puffed. Now, that's changed. My breathing is so much better.

I'm an artist, but to make money, I decorate. It's a very demanding job, physically. My diet's good. I've always eaten well. I never drink soft drinks. I drink less alcohol now, although I still enjoy good wine and occasional beer. As you get older you learn your limitations more. You listen to the body more and you take more of a holistic approach to your health. I think you can cure a lot with the mind.

When you're younger, you tend to take your health for granted, but as you get older you realise that it's God's gift, and you try and keep that by doing the right things more. I think good health is more than just being fit. I like to keep my mind active by reading a lot. I also think it's important to have a good social life. I think it contributes to better health. If you're healthy mentally, you're healthy physically.

When it comes to doctors, men are quite macho: "I'm a tough guy. Nothing can cut me down." Men keep their pain inside more, then something catastrophic happens and it all comes out. On the other hand, I think we're a nation of hypochondriacs. There doesn't seem to be a middle ground.

· Men's Health Week runs until Sunday. For more information, visit www.menshealthforum.org.uk