THEY have beaten their addiction to nicotine, overcome an aversion to fitness and conquered a fear of the doctor’s surgery — and rewards are on the horizon for the average Aussie bloke.

As men finally see the light on the benefits of looking after No1, fewer of them will be seeing an early grave, with new data suggesting the health kick will delay the day of reckoning by almost two years.

As a result, there will be a huge demographic shift for the nation to contend with. Within 40 years, the number of people aged over 65 will have almost tripled from 2.8 million today to about 7.2million in 2047, or from 13 per cent of the population to more than 25per cent. The changes at the top of the longevity ladder will be even more marked, with one in 11 people aged over 85.

The forecast, from a report by the Department of Health and Ageing, was welcomed yesterday as evidence of a revolution in the making, with credit given to men accepting the need to ditch unhealthy habits.

“Australia will be changed forever,” Minister for Ageing Justine Elliot said.

“The anti-smoking message has gotten through to the Aussie male and they will be living longer. That is wonderful news for our society — we will have healthier older people who will be living longer and will be more self-sufficient.”

Data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare shows that smoking rates among men have dropped from more than 70per cent in 1945 to just over 20per cent in 2004.

This is among the lowest in the world and may have contributed to Australia achieving one of the highest average life expectancies of any country.

“It’s worth celebrating the fact that healthy lifestyle and being health-conscious can reap you rewards in terms of longevity,” Australian Medical Association federal president Rosanna Capolingua said.

But she said other issues were at play in extending men’s life expectancy. “The other important thing is that men have not tended to go to doctors for health checks but now they’re learning that it’s a good thing to do.

“Women have always gone to doctors, but men have tended to shy away from seeing a doctor for a check up or a preventative consultation,” she said.

A female baby born in 2001 could expect to live 5.4 years longer than a boy born at the same time, the Department of Health and Ageing report states, but theAustralian obsession with health will see that gap narrow by 2051 to 3.5 years. The report, Older Australia at a Glance, says that by 2051, the population is expected to reach 28million, an increase of 37 per cent from today. Over the same period, the number of people over 55 is expected to increase by 113per cent from five million to about 10.7 million.

The change will be even more marked among people aged 85 or over. At present they represent around 1.4 per cent of the population; by 2051, they will probably account for between 6 per cent and 9 per cent, meaning about one in 11 people will be over 85.

Des Durkin, 67, who walks or swims every day, was yesterday frolicking in the waves at Sydney’s Bondi Beach with his grandson, Tom Jaeger, five. Since he survived bowel cancer eight years ago, Mr Durkin has been conscious of his lifestyle, watching his diet and exercising daily.

“There are so many people my age who run and walk around here I’m surprised they’re still talking about an obesity epidemic,” he said.

“I would love to get a lot of young people out like this — my grandkids would play all day on the computer if you let them.”

He said most of his contemporaries had become very health conscious. He gave up smoking 30 years ago.

“As you get older, you realise you have to be careful,” he said. “I don’t feel 67; and I used to think if you were 67, you were old. But I don’t feel like that.”