Men in Europe are lagging behind women in terms of life expectancy due to "lifestyle and occupational differences", a WHO report has warned.
Researchers found that although people are living longer than ever before, men have seen less improvement and are "a generation behind" women.
A team from the The World Health Organisation (WHO), who looked at data for nearly nine million people in 53 countries, said men have not yet reached the average rise in years of life that women enjoyed back in 1980.
The European Health Report found the gap between the sexes is 7.5 years, 'BBC News' reported.
Researchers said that lifestyle and occupational differences "largely explain this gap". As of 2010, women in Europe can expect to live for an average of 80 years, while men reach an average of 72.5 years.
The report also reveals big inequalities in average life expectancy between different countries. And these differences are greatest in men.
The gap between the best and worst countries for male life expectancy is 17 years while it is 12 for women.
Countries with the widest male-female difference in survival included Belarus, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Montenegro, the Russian Federation and Ukraine.
Those with the smallest male-female difference were Iceland, Israel, the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK.
The average life expectancy in the UK, in 2010 was 80 years - 82.5 years for females and 78.5 for males.
The leading health risk factors for Europeans today include tobacco and harmful alcohol use. Cardiovascular disease remains the biggest killer, followed by cancer.
"There are persistent and widespread inequities in health across the region, which in some cases are worsening," Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO's regional director for Europe, said.
"These are unnecessary and unjust and must be a priority for us to address collectively," said Jakab.
