Men may have the strength and speed, but when it comes to life expectancy, women have trumped. Now that could be about to change, says one expert advising the Office for National Statistics.

Women have, until now, lived around six years longer than men but a switch to healthier lifestyles and the shift in jobs away from manufacturing to office-based work means men are living longer.

Fewer men are smoking and more are embracing the healthy living approach that has traditionally been more common among women.

According to The Daily Telegraph, boys currently aged 12 and who reach the age of 30 are now expected to live to an average of 87.

While men’s health is improving, the health of women has generally been in decline amid rising levels of obesity and binge drinking.

Professor Leslie Mayhew, a statistician at City University, London, told The Sunday Times: “There has been a huge decline in the numbers [of men] working in heavy industry; far fewer males smoke than before and there is much better treatment for heart disease, which tends to affect more males than females.”