Women need men to share more of the burdens if they are also to thrive

It’s not as if society is static. We do see notable gender shifts taking place almost unnoticed right under our noses. One that took my attention yesterday was revealed in a Europe-wide health survey.

It found that Scots men – yes, men – were the happiest and healthiest Britons. Is that right? I thought Scots men would never be able to throw off the "sick man of Europe" tag. But, it seems, I’m out of date.

According to the European Health Interview Survey, men living north of the Border are trimmer, fitter and happier than their southern counterparts. They are less likely to feel depressed and take fewer sick days off work.

The only shame is that, by comparison, the health and happiness of Scots women is dipping.

The question is: why?

Well, I suppose it would be surprising if men’s health wasn’t improving. After all, we have heard about little else for years. If there is a Scotsman who doesn’t know that a lifetime of smoking combined with a diet high in fat, sugar, and alcohol is a short cut to the grave, he must already be deaf and blind.

It is still the case that twice as many men as women die from alcohol-related chronic liver disease but in Greater Glasgow the figures have more than halved from 45 per 100,000 of population in 2003 to 21 at present.

Running alongside this consistent health message there has been a shift away from a more macho age.

More men have lifestyles similar to women’s. Only two in 10 men smoke. They eat more sensibly and take more of an interest in their appearance. It’s as if they have been given permission to look in the mirror and take pride in what they see. I turned my head the first time I saw two men enter a shop in Edinburgh to buy moisturiser. I presumed they were buying a gift. I presumed wrong.

The survey shows that Scottish men spend more time enjoying sports or recreational physical activities than Scots women (5.5 hours a week compared to 4.4). They are also more active than English men by 40 minutes. I wonder if self-esteem might be the influence here as much as the success of Chris Hoy and Andy Murray. (A tiny six per cent say they are more interested in physical activity following Glasgow hosting the Commonwealth Games.)

Trying to look good might be the making of Scottish men.

Though it’s seldom said, there must also be a positive spin-off for men being in a two-income household. Before women habitually worked, men carried the full responsibility and, therefore, the full stress of being the bread winner. There would have been a knock-on impact on their health.

But just as the melding of many aspects of our day-to-day life is helping men to be happier and healthier, so it seems to be pulling women down.

Women are encouraged to work full-time before, during and after raising their families. That has been an important part of the fight for gender equality but the terms and conditions need tweaked. At present, mothers of school-age children find themselves at full stretch. They have a career job by day and a domestic one by night and at weekends.

Just days ago I heard a young mother say she was not entitled to time off work if her child was sick. So how was she to cope?

Almost on quarter say they drink four to five units of alcohol a day at weekends. Some drink every day. It’s probably stress relief. Alcohol-related disease in Scots women has doubled from 8 per 100,000 to 16.

The combination of work and caring for children can leave women with less time for exercise and generally looking after themselves. They may be frantically busy, but in the office or in a car. The survey shows they are 11 per cent more likely to be obese than men and 29 per cent more Scots women suffer from depression.

Women also take more medication than men, have more allergies and are more likely to suffer from asthma and back pain.

However, men are still more likely to suffer strokes, heart disease and diabetes.

The statistical curves are however coming together. Gender offers no magical protection. On the evidence of this survey, it seems obvious that lifestyles and habits play a large part in determining our health outcomes and general wellbeing.

Men deem themselves happier than women. And married men say they are happier than single ones.

Age is another factor. Contentment seems to rise and fall by the number of candles on the cake. It’s lowest in the teens and early 20s, rises from 25-35 and then dips again for a decade. This surely is the stretch when children are young and careers are being built. It is the decade where the ground rules most need reform.

From then on it’s an upward trajectory to a peak for women pensioners in the Highlands. Along the way, income is a measurable influence on happiness. It will be no surprise that the highest score for contentment is found among those earning around £60,000.

For most people that will only ever be an aspiration. But, for too many women, the income they receive is still less than that of male contemporaries. It is one of the injustices that Sandi Toksvig and her new political party will seek to redress.

So they should. Women have put themselves forward and long demanded their right to play an equal part in society. We have claimed the right to work, to have careers and to enter every trade and profession on an equal footing. We have succeeded to the point where we are sharing the load and sharing the price for carrying it.

It’s why our health statistics are dipping. But it needn’t be that way; or it needn’t be so stark. Having equality of opportunity and parity in salary would go a long way to redress the balance. Having a more realistic approach to the decade when children are small would help as well.

This change will come. Women are a majority in society so we will prevail. But, with the insight afforded by surveys like this one, we can see the cause and effect of lifestyle and health, how the burden on women is causing harm.

Men can continue to get better and thrive and women can too if the burdens and the rewards are more equally shared.