The government wants more people across Peterborough 'get involved' in England's first ever men's health strategy
Over the next 3 months they're collecting evidence aiming to closing the life expectancy gap between men & women
There's a fresh call for more people in - Peterborough - to 'take part' in England's first ever men's health strategy.
The government are looking at how to close the life expectancy gap between men and women.
This has the power to impact every man living in the UK
Men are "disproportionately affected" by a number of serious medical conditions including cancer, heart disease and type 2 diabetes, health leaders have said as they called for input on England's first ever men's health plan.
On average, men have a shorter life expectancy compared to women - a difference of almost four years - and officials are asking for views on what must be done to "close the gap".
Men are also more likely to die by suicide compared to women, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) added.
The department said that action must be taken to "prevent and tackle" the biggest issues facing men as it called for insights on what needs to be included in England's men's health strategy.
There's loads of problems that men face that they don't open up
Lucas Whitehead is from the suicide prevention charity Andy's Man Club.
The charity run weekly peer support groups for men in Peterborough. He said:
"We know that there's loads of problems that men face that they don't open up about and don't feel comfortable opening up about."
"We try to encourage guys to open up before it's too late."
"We know that suicide has climbed steadily since around the time of the financial crash in the late 2000's."
"We want to try and reduce those numbers."
"This has the power to impact every man living in the UK and so we hope it's something that's really thought out and continues for a long time."
Officials are seeking opinions from the public, health and care workers, academics and employers on what can be done to improve men's health.
The call for evidence will be open for views for 12 weeks on the Department of Health and Social Care website.