We want to play a part in helping men to add more healthier years to their life. We chose seven more of those years, but why, well there are lots of reasons, here are some.

A recent Nature Communications study of more than 277,000 people found that a 50-year-old man experiencing both loneliness and social isolation could expect 5.8 fewer years free from depression and anxiety than a man experiencing neither. Across the UK as a whole, men live around 3.9 years less than women. Research using ONS-linked data has found a 7.0-year gap in male life expectancy by wage and a 7.2-year gap by education. In England, the gap in life expectancy between men living in the most and least deprived areas is around 10.4 years, while the gap in healthy life expectancy is closer to 19 years. Men affected by severe mental illness can lose 15 to 20 years, while some of the most excluded groups, including men who have experienced rough sleeping, face even larger losses.

These figures are not directly comparable. Some measure total lifespan, some healthy life expectancy and some years lived free from specific mental-health conditions. But together they tell a very clear story: too many men are losing years of life, and even more importantly, years of healthy life.

That is where sevenmore+ comes from.

Seven is not a statistical average and it is not a promise. It is an ambition. What would happen if we set ourselves the goal of helping men gain seven more healthy years? Seven more years of being physically able to do the things they enjoy. Seven more years of good mental health, relationships, fatherhood, friendship, work, purpose and independence.

The encouraging part is that many of the things influencing these gaps are not fixed. Physical health matters, of course, but so do income, work, loneliness, relationships, sleep, stress, access to healthcare and the environments people live and work in.

That is why sevenmore+ is interested in workplaces as well as healthcare. Work is one of the places where men spend most of their adult lives. It can provide purpose, friendship, routine and belonging, but it can also create isolation, exhaustion and ill health.

No single intervention gives a man seven extra years. But better prevention, healthier work, stronger relationships, earlier support and more opportunities for connection can all move us in the right direction.

So sevenmore+ is deliberately aspirational.

For some men, seven more healthy years would be transformational. For others, seven would not be ambitious enough.

Either way, that is the point: we should be aiming for more than simply helping men live longer. We should be helping them stay healthier, connected and involved in their lives for longer too.