Men are now more likely to live a longer proportion of their lives in good health than women . The length of time that a woman can expect to live in good health is getting shorter , according to an official analysis . Men are now more likely to live a longer proportion of their lives in good health than women . However , women still live longer than men overall – though the gap is closing . The statistics , released yesterday , showed that over the past three years the expectancy of life in good health for a baby girl in England has dropped by nearly four months . But during the same period , the length of time that newborn baby boys can expect to live in good health has risen slightly . The latest figures are gathered from the Annual Population Survey run by the Office for National Statistics , which collects data on 320,000 people every year . Health life expectancy is calculated from the number of people who say they are in good or in very good health . Experts say these changes are as partially as a result of the major economic , industrial and family upheavals of the past 50 years . Men are likely to live longer now because few work in dangerous industrial jobs like coal mining , and fewer drink heavily or smoke . Women , however , are increasingly likely to spend much of their lives in demanding jobs , as well as bringing up children . According to the ONS , in the three years between 2011 and 2013 , a baby girl born in England could on average expect to live in good health for 63.9 years . This compares with 64.2 years between 2009 and 2011 . In contrast , a boy could expect good health for 63.3 years if born between 2011 and 2013 , compared with 63.2 years from 2009 to 2011 . This means that men now spend 80 per cent of their lives in good health , compared to 77 per cent for women . Overall life expectancy for women is 83.1 years , and men 79.4 . However , the figures also show a major divide between north and south . Women are increasingly likely to spend much of their lives in demanding jobs , as well as bringing up children , according to the ONS . Newborn boys in the South East are likely to get 6.3 years longer in good health than those in the North East , and girls in the South East an extra 6.6 years . But women in the south are losing ground in terms of health expectancy much faster than those in the north , as health improves in the area . Commenting on the results , the ONS said : ‘ The health status and mortality rates of a population change year on year due to exposure to different risks and treatments affecting health , and also through inward and outward migration. ’ High levels of fitness in middle age can help men survive cancer , a study has found . Researchers discovered that of those who developed lung , bowel or prostate cancer , keeping fit cut the chances of them dying from their disease by a third . Almost 14,000 US men had their cardiorespiratory fitness monitored using treadmill tests for nearly seven years from the age of 65 . For the men who developed cancer , a high fitness level was associated with a 32 per cent reduced risk of death . Mid-life fitness also lowered the risk of being diagnosed with lung and bowel cancer , but apparently not prostate cancer . The researchers , from the University of Vermont , told the journal JAMA Oncology that future studies were required to look at fitness and cancer in women .
Men are now likely to live a longer portion of their lives in good health . Women still live longer but the gap between the sexes is starting to close . ONS says changes follow upheaval over last 50 years . Women more likely to spend their lives in demanding jobs and raising kids .