It’s not news that men are different from women when it comes to health. Men are less likely to go to the doctor when there is a problem even though in most countries men have a shorter lifespan than women. The following facts are less known, although they are important to understand men and their health.

• Men are twice as likely as women to die from heart disease.
• Men are almost twice as likely to develop diabetes.
• Men smoke more than women and are almost two and a half times more likely to develop lung cancer.
• More men are overweight than women (62% compared to 45%).
• Men are more likely to have a high-fat diet.
• Men are four times more likely to commit suicide than their female counterparts.
• Because more outdoor workers are men, they are more likely to develop skin cancer.
• One in eleven men develop prostate cancer.
• Men’s immune system is significantly weaker than women’s, mostly due to estrogen’s immune-boosting influence.
• Males and females have similar LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels, but women have substantially higher levels of HDL (“good”) cholesterol.
• Women have much larger and more reliable social networks than men. A recent study found that 28% of women but only 9% of men can rely on friends for support. Men were two and a half times more likely than women to lack social support.