2010-07-02 11:27:15
Britons are having babies later, getting married less and spending most on housing, water and fuel, according to the Office for National Statistics.
The statisticians' annual survey on the state of the nation compares life trends today with 40 years ago.
The number of babies born to women under 25 in England and Wales fell from 369,000 in 1971 to 180,700 in 2008.
A separate report has found a widening gap between average life expectancy and that of the poorest in England.
The National Audit Office report said life expectancy was now 77.9 years for men and 82 years for women, but in poor areas it fell to 75.8 and 80.4 years.
In the Office for National Statistics report, the number of marriages was shown to have fallen from 340,000 in 1970 to 143,000 in 2007.
Over the same period housing and fuel had replaced food as the biggest cost.
In 1970 the highest proportion of household expenditure was spent on food and non-alcoholic drinks.