Councils across England have called on the government to create a national strategy for men’s health after discovering wide gaps in life expectancy between men in wealthy and deprived areas.
The Local Government Association (LGA) said the problem “should be recognised as a national concern”. A report by the body – Men’s Health: the Lives of Men In Our Communities – claims men in deprived areas live up to 10 years less than their counterparts in wealthy areas, with smoking and excessive alcohol consumption contributing to the gap.
David Fothergill, chair of the LGA’s community wellbeing board, said: “Men in England are facing a silent health crisis, dying almost four years earlier than women, with high rates of cancer, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and suicide.
“Large inequalities mean that men in deprived neighbourhoods live almost a decade less than their more affluent peers.”
Fothergill said some local government programmes were “making progress” but a men’s health strategy was needed.
The LGA also called for local funding for suicide prevention to be restored. In England and Wales, suicide is the leading cause of death for men aged 20-34, and the suicide rate is three times higher for men overall than for women.
A £57 million pot helping local authorities provide support to people at risk of suicide was cut in March.
Some of the plans already in place include Gateshead Council’s Man v Fat programme to help overweight men improve their health through football, and a £2.5 million initiative from Islington City Council to improve mental health services for young black men.
“We are calling for men’s health to be recognised as a national concern, and for the government to implement a men’s health strategy,” Fothergill said. “Innovative local initiatives led by councils are making progress, but national action is needed to close the life expectancy gap.”
In 2022, the government presented a 10-year strategy for women’s health, which aimed to improve the way the health system treats women and girls.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “There are unacceptable health inequalities across the UK and we are determined to tackle these so people can live longer, happier, healthier lives.
“The NHS is broken. We are going to get the NHS back on its feet and shift the focus from treating disease to preventing it.
“Our 10-year health plan outlines how we will ensure men have access to the support and targeted interventions they need.
“Our plans to reduce obesity, improve cancer survival and enhance mental health will also help tackle the key causes of ill health in men.”
The LGA’s call echoes that of the charity Movember, which published a report in July warning that more than 133,000 men die prematurely in the UK each year, the equivalent of 15 every hour. The charity also found that two in five men die prematurely before the age of 75, often from entirely avoidable health conditions.
The charity said that leading causes of death, such as lung cancer and heart disease, could be prevented by quitting smoking, limiting alcohol consumption, eating healthily and attending medical check-ups and other appointments.