London, Feb 24 (IANS): Men are healthier and happier about their appearance than women in general, according to a new survey.

Health and Happiness, a nationwide study of 2,000 men and women found that men reported a higher rate of happiness when it came to their weight, shape, appearance, and the way they are perceived by others.

Women, on the other hand, were found to be more self-conscious and slightly less satisfied with their happiness levels at around 49 percent. Women are also much more likely to try dieting compared to men, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

Men don’t feel stressed as often either. Almost 60 percent of male respondents said they only felt stressed once a month, whereas 60 percent of women said they felt anxious once a week or more.

Over 70 percent of men also claim they rarely felt depressed or had mood swings, compared to half of women who admitted to feeling low or unhappy at least once a month, if not more.

Headaches, bloating or poor digestion were less of a problem among men. Almost half of them said they rarely got headaches, compared to 64 percent women who said they experienced them at least once a month or more.

For 70 percent of men, bloating and poor digestion would only occur once a month or less, but almost half of women said it was a weekly or daily problem.

“The general perception is that women are more health conscious, but what this survey shows is that women do actually have more health issues to deal with, especially relating to digestion, mood, anxiety and sleep,” said leading nutrition expert, Patrick Holford, who conducted the research.

“The results also show that respondents, regardless of their gender, considered the absence of disease to be an indicator of good health. But being healthy means more than that - it’s abundance of well-being indicated by good energy levels, a stable mood and a sharp mind, all of which achieve optimum health,” added Holford.