Scotsmen happiest and healthy too...

But survey says life’s getting harder for women

IT’S good news for him – but bad news for her. Scotsmen are now the happiest and healthiest Britons, a study shows.

Men north of the Border are the least likely to feel depressed or ill and they exercise the most, take fewer sick days and have the trimmest figures.

But the European Health Interview Survey (EHIS) also highlights a growing gap between the sexes, with Scottish women living in greater pain and taking more prescription medicine than anywhere else in the UK.

Experts claim the trend may stem from working mothers being put under increasing stress as they juggle a career with raising a family.

Health psychologist Dr Cynthia McVey of Glasgow Caledonian University believes that social changes in Scotland are benefiting men more. She said: ‘The last 20 or 30 years have seen a real health drive to address the tag we always had of being the “Sick Man of Europe”. And these figures certainly seem to be evidence that it is paying off.

‘But the effect seems to be one-sided.

‘We know men are exercising more and smoking and drinking less and that seems to have created a positive momentum of its own.

‘ They’re doing more and they’re feeling better about themselves.

‘But over that same period, pressure has grown on women to work while still keeping a family going. Government policy is angled at getting more women into work.

‘And I suspect this is what lies behind these statistics.

‘Compared with the previous generation, many more women will be feeling greater stress and have less time to exercise and look after themselves. The momentum builds the other way.’

The EHIS questioned 17,900 people across the UK, including 1,500 Scots.

It found that 79 per cent of Scots believe they are in good health compared with 76 per cent in England, 73 per cent in Wales and 68 per cent in North- ern Ireland. But that’s where the good news stops – for half the population.

Scotsmen top the UK league tables on a string of indicators, and compared with Scots women, they take three fewer sick days a year and spend an extra hour a week exercising.

The odds of being obese are 11 per cent higher for females – 29 per cent higher when it comes to depression. Fewer Scotsmen take prescribed medicine than elsewhere in Britain, but Scotswomen are the most likely to take pills.

Men are still more at risk from heart disease, strokes or diabetes.

However, women have a higher incidence of neck and back pain, asthma and allergies. They are now twice as likely to have cirrhosis, linked to heavy drinking.

Scotland has a track record of being bottom in nationwide health surveys, but these first UK results from the EHIS suggest the tables are turning.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘The important thing i s we work to improve the health of everyone, regardless of gender.

‘We recognise we need a shift in emphasis from dealing with the consequences of ill-health to tackling the underlying causes such as r educing poverty.’

‘Effect seems to be one-sided’