The latest Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report on men's health found that the leading causes of death among males also differed significantly by age group.

The main causes of death for baby boys under the age of one were congenital malformations and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

In the five to 12 years age group, transport accidents were the main cause of death followed by brain cancer and congenital malformation.

But in the 18 to 24-year-old group, the leading causes of deaths were motor accidents, suicide and accidental poisoning.

The report found that boy babies born between 2009-2011 could expect to live to the age of 79.7, nearly five years less than girls born the same year whose life expectancy was 84.2 years.

More than half the boys surveyed aged between five and 15 years brushed their teeth twice a day, but more than half had at least one permanent tooth affected by decay by the age of 14.

About 33 per cent of males aged 14 to 19 years had never consumed a full serve of alcohol although 43 per cent of the same age group were at risk of injury from a single occasion of drinking compared with 39 per cent of females the same age.

In Australian men over the age of 25 years, coronary heart disease was the leading cause of death, followed closely by lung cancer.

Suicide was the leading cause of death for men aged 25 to 44 at the time of the survey.

After the age of 45, most Australian men died from chronic disease.

The report found that body weight contributed to chronic disease.

Based on measured heights and weights, 75 per cent of men aged 25 and over were overweight or obese.

The average waist circumference for men 25 years and over was 100 centimetres - two-thirds of men in this age group had a waist circumference that put them at increased risk of chronic disease.

  If you need help or counselling contact Samaritans 1300 364 566, Lifeline 131 114, Kids Helpline 1800 551 800, MensLine Australia 1300 789 978, or the StandBy Response Service 24-hour number on 0408 133 884.