’Prevention is better than cure’ is a principle followed more often by women than by men. The year 2019 saw an increase in the number of basic medical tests done and preventive treatment received compared to 2014, but this positive trend applied to women to a larger extent than to men. The above-mentioned tests included monitoring blood pressure and checking sugar and cholesterol levels in blood. In 2019, over half of women confirmed having these tests done in the preceding 12 months. 68% of them had their blood pressure checked, 57% had their sugar levels measured, and 53% had their cholesterol examined. As regards men, 60% of them had their blood pressure checked within the 12 preceding months, while less than 50% had the sugar and cholesterol levels in blood examined. Slightly more women than men (9% and 8%, respectively) underwent colonoscopy in order to rule out or confirm colon cancer. Approximately the same number of Polish women and men (3% each) were vaccinated against flu. The number of gynaecological tests (cytology and mammography) performed in 2014 was comparable to 2019; one in three women declared having cytology done in the preceding 12 months, and one in eight declared having undergone mammography.

Pro-health lifestyle also involves avoiding alcohol or tobacco abuse. These risky-for-health behaviours predominate among men. In the last decade, a statistical woman in Poland drank on average approximately 5–6 litres of pure alcohol a year, while a statistical man in Poland drank over 18 litres of alcohol a year. Alcohol abuse is becoming an increasingly frequent cause of death in Poland. In the last decade, the number of such deaths grew both among women (from 1 to 3 cases per 100,000 women) and men (from 9 to 18 cases per 100,000 men). These numbers place Poland among the top five EU countries with the highest proportion of deaths caused by excessive alcohol consumption. On the other hand, the number of tobacco smokers decreased in Poland in the same period, which is consistent with the general trend in the EU. In the whole EU, including Poland, fewer women smoke cigarettes than men. In 2020, two out of 10 Polish women declared smoking cigarettes, while in the case of Polish men, it was three out of 10.

Maintaining the correct body weight contributes to good health. At the same time, Poland sees growing problems connected with improper nutrition: increasing numbers of people are either overweight or obese. In the last decade, approximately 50% of adult women and over 60% of adult men were overweight, while slightly less than 20% of women and about 20% of men were obese. Among overweight or obese women, young women constitute the fastest-growing group. The percentage of overweight women aged 15-24 increased from 13% in 2014 to 17% in 2019. The number of women with incorrect body weight has been rising in the whole EU, but on a larger scale in Poland than on average in the EU. Download data .xls

One of the factors that prevent diseases and improve quality of life is physical activity. In Poland, women generally less often than men declare participating in sports or physical recreational activities. With age, men’s physical activity declines faster than women’s; as a result, the gap between men and women in terms of the participation in physical activity narrows as both groups age. In 2021, 42% of Polish women aged 30–39 (47% of men) declared participating in such activities, while in the 40–49 age group, it was just over 40% of Polish men and women. Among those aged 50–59, it is women who are more likely than men to be involved in sports and physical recreational activities (30% of women and 26% of men in 2021). In earlier years (prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic), women chose to engage in physical activities slightly more often than in 2021. Polish women claimed that they did physical activities mainly for pleasure and entertainment, although the percentage of women driven by these motivations decreases with age. The common reasons for women to take up sports activities was the desire to keep fit and maintain a good body shape; in this case, too, the older the age group, the lower the percentage of women motivated by these factors. Undertaking physical activity for health reasons or due to a doctor's recommendation increases among women as they become older. Invariably, Polish women tended to avoid participating in sports activities mostly due to the lack of free time or lack of willingness; generally, about 70% of women aged 30–59 declared so in 2021.

Poles are increasingly more willing to join sports clubs. In the years 2010–2022, the number of members (non-juniors) in this type of units almost doubled. The growth was faster among women (their number increased by 139% during this period) than men (by 73%); the faster growth rate of the number of women in sports clubs resulted mainly from their relatively low number in 2010. Nonetheless, women are still a minority in sports clubs; the share of women exercising in dedicated sports facilities rose from 12% in 2010 to 16% in 2022. Women most often engage in sport shooting, football and volleyball: in 2022, one in four female members of a sports club practiced one of these three disciplines. Athletics, karate and equestrian sport are also popular among women. For years, the tendency among men was to take up football (in 2022, 37% of all sports club members were engaged in this sport) and sport shooting (25%). Disciplines in which women's membership clearly dominates are figure skating and gymnastics (women accounted for 80% of all those training this sport in 2022) as well as equestrian sport and acrobatics (approx. 70% of female members).

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The subjective opinions of Polish residents show that the health of the population has improved since the beginning of the previous decade. Similar trends are observed in most EU countries. The majority of Poles aged 16 and over rated their health as very good or good in 2022 (62%), which is more than in 2010 (58%). At the same time, the percentage of people indicating bad or very bad health decreased (from 15% to 10%). Poles’ rating of their health is slightly lower than that of average EU residents. In 2022, 68% of EU inhabitants claimed their health was very good or good (67% in 2010), and 9% described it as bad or very bad (10% in 2010).

In Poland, as in the whole of the EU, very good or good health ratings are less common among women than men. In 2022, 59% of women (55% in 2010) and 66% of men (62% in 2010) assessed their health positively. On the other hand, women are more likely than men to state that their health is fair (neither good nor bad); in 2022, 30% of women (28% in 2010) and 25% of men (similarly to 2010) declared so. Likewise, more women than men rated their health as bad or very bad, although the percentage of such opinions decreased from 17% in 2010 to 11% in 2022 among women and, respectively, from 14% to 9% among men.

The results of the self-perceived assessment indicate that the older participants, the lower the rating of their health; the disparity in the health evaluation between men and women also increases with age, where the latter tend to report a worse health condition. Among the younger age groups (16–24, 25–34, and 35–44), the assessments formulated by men and women do not differ significantly. However, in 2022, 24% of women (29% of men) aged 65 and over rated their health as very good or good, while 25% (22% of men) saw it as bad or very bad.

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Among modern-age diseases, diseases of the circulatory system and malignant neoplasms still dominate, although deaths caused by diseases of the respiratory system and diabetes mellitus are also frequent. In the last decade, in Poland an average of 417 women and 414 men died of the aforementioned illnesses each day.

In Poland, women more often than men die of the circulatory system diseases: in the last 10 years, these diseases led to the death of 240–270 women daily (and 210–230 men). Women were also more likely to die from diabetes mellitus and its medical complications. In the last decade, the average daily number of deaths of women resulting from this chronic disease amounted to more than 10, while the number of deaths of men from the same cause was about 10.

On the other hand, malignant neoplasms claimed the lives of men slightly more often than those of women (which is also related to the fact that women were more willing to undergo preventive examinations). On average, each day 120 women and 140–150 men died of malignant neoplasms, which constituted 25% of all deaths in Poland. Respiratory system diseases also occurred less frequently among women than men (which was, among other factors, due to the fact that fewer women smoked cigarettes). On average, 20–35 women and 30–45 men died to these diseases each day.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 caused changes in the structure of death causes, which was particularly apparent in 2021. In that year, COVID-19 became the third most frequent cause of death in Poland (after circulatory system diseases and malignant neoplasms). In the years 2020–2021, 58 thous. women and 71 thous. men died due to COVID-19 and its complications. Download data .xls