Australian women are far healthier than men, according to new research.
Aussie women have come out on top in five physical measurements including height and weight for Body Mass Index (BMI), blood pressure, heart rate and body fat percentage; as well as lifestyle and family history questions.
On average women recorded a ‘heart age’ five months older than their actual age, but men recorded an average of 4.5 years older than their actual age.
Australian women have come out on top in five physical measurements including BMI, blood pressure, heart rate and body fat percentage (stock image)
Men were also three and a half times more likely to have a high body fat percentage compared to women.
The research was put together by Priceline Pharmacy after they conducted more than one million health checks around the country in the past three years.
Although women fared better in comparison to men overall, 49 per cent of women were now classified as either overweight or obese and 15 per cent had either high or very high blood pressure.
Although women fared better in comparison to men overall, 15 per cent had either high or very high blood pressure (stock image)
In Australia, a boy born in 2013–2015 can expect to live to the age of 80.4 years, while a girl would be expected to live to 84.5 years, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
Life expectancy has significantly increased since the late 1800s when men were only expected to live until 47.2 years and women 50.8 years.
‘An important part of managing your health is knowing your numbers so you can track how you’re progressing over time and keep yourself accountable,’ said Priceline pharmacist Regina Cowie.
‘Using these convenient digital health stations allows you to monitor yourself often, meaning you can adjust your diet and exercise routine to improve your results and overall health.’
Heart disease is the number one killer of women, leading to more than 31,000 deaths each year – more than most forms of cancer, including breast cancer (stock image)
While much of the Priceline report suggests good news for women, there are some things that females need to be aware of.
In 2016, the Cardiovascular Risk and Diseases in Australian Women report found heart disease was the number one killer of women, leading to more than 31,000 deaths every year.
This was above most forms of cancer, including breast cancer.
One of the report’s lead researchers, Maja-Lisa Lochan, said many women failed to get timely medical treatment because they failed to recognise the symptoms of a heart attack.
Speaking previously to FEMAIL, Dr Marianne Legato, director of America’s Foundation for Gender-specific Medicine, revealed what might be the reason as to why women on the whole are healthier:
‘Men often deny illness,’ she said.
‘They minimise symptoms because they don’t want to go to a doctor and find out something is wrong.’