The gap between male and female life expectancy is closing and men could catch up by 2030, according to an adviser for the Office for National Statistics, BBC reported.

Life expectancy is going up all-round , but the rates for men are increasing faster. Plummeting smoking rates with men, are thought to explain a lot of the change.

Les Mayhew, a professor of statistics at Cass Business School, analyzed life expectancy data in England and Wales. His findings show that men had been languishing far behind for decades, but now starting to get closer to women.

If the current trend continue, Prof Mayhew predicts, both sexes could, on average, be living to the age of 87 in 2030.

(China.org.cn April 27, 2012)

据英国广播公司报道，英国国家统计局顾问表示，男女寿命差距正在缩小，到2030年，男人将和女人活得一样长。

人的寿命正在延长，但男人的寿命增长的速度更快，吸烟率直线下降是主要原因。

卡斯商学院的统计学教授里斯·梅休对英格兰人和威尔士人的寿命数据进行了研究。他发现，过去几十年间，男人的寿命一直比女人短，但现在正逐渐接近女人的寿命。

梅休预测，如果这个趋势一直保持下去，男女两性的平均寿命在2030年都将达到87岁。