Women are known to age faster than men, but have you noticed how they
are able to live longer than men? Perhaps, they still manage to remain
healthy in their old age. This really perplexes me. No, you can't blame
their nagging to shorten the lives of their sons, boyfriends and
husbands. There is more to it. Especially in developed countries, women
live almost 5 to 10 years longer than men! Did you know? Of people
living for more than 100 years on Earth, 85% are women. Men have high
levels of testosterone levels early in life and tend to exhibit risky
behavior while women choose to remain safe by taking precautions such as
driving slow (for which men obviously hate us), wearing seat-belts,
keeping a check on their health as well as that of other family members.
Could that be why women live longer than men? According new statistics
published by the United Nations, the average life expectancy of a woman
in the United States is 80.8 years while that of a man is 75.6 years! In
fact, in almost every country around the world, the average life
expectancy of women is more than that of men. So, why do women live
longer than men? Let's find out an answer to this age old question.
Women Live Longer, Men Die Sooner
- Death in Prime Years: Men are more prone to death in
their younger years (between 12-30 years) by engaging in aggressive and
violent behavior such as suicides from stress and depression, homicides,
automobile accidents from rash driving or drinking and driving. Also,
occupational hazards are a contributing factor such as death among men
as they join the army, police departments and others.
- Unhealthy Lifestyle Habits: Men are exposed to smoking,
drinking and doping very early in their life. They also tend to indulge
in these habits more than women who do it in lesser numbers. Later on in
life, such habits mar down the immune system, exposing the body to
various health risks and diseases.
- Eating a Lot: It is a known fact that men consume food in
much larger quantities and more frequently than women. Also, they
consume a lot more meats and this contributes to high cholesterol levels
in them. This is also why we experience cardiovascular related problems
a lot later in life than our male counterparts.
- Sex Hormones: Some scientists believe that the genetic makeup
of women gives them added protection against early death as compared to
men. Women experience menopause and the production of estrogen and
other sex hormones in the body declines. But, men continue to have
testosterone produced in their bodies, which is unfavorable to their
health in old age.
- Second X Chromosome: Women have two X chromosomes that help
them make for disease genes, if they lack longevity enabling genes,
which helps them keep the good genes active on the X chromosomes. Such
variation on the same or different set of genes contributes to their
longer life. Although, this explanation is a little difficult to
understand as to why women live longer than men, but it plays a vital
role to their life expectancy.
- Evolution of Species: Since women give birth to offsprings
and are primary caregivers to their children, they are genetically
designed to have bodies that can withstand such conditions and thus,
remain healthier than men. In most mammals, the females tend to live
longer than males. The role of males is limited to reproduction only.
- Iron Deficiency: Women tend to be more deficient in iron in
their bodies due to monthly blood loss during menstruation. Iron, found
largely in red meat, contributes to the production of free radicals that
speedup aging and clog arteries, raising the risk of a heart stroke.
Men naturally have more iron in their blood, than women.
- Delaying Health Checkups: Just like most men refuse to take
directions, they refuse to go for health checkups believing they are
hale and hearty. Call in the ego or over-confidence, they don't really
visit the doctor unless something major happens to their health. And,
then women are blamed for nagging to go for regular check-ups... huh?
- Medical Boom: Apart from just being careful about their
health, lesser women die during childbirth. A high mortality rate due to
the same was common among our ancestors. However, now lesser and lesser
women die due to childbirth, vitamin deficiencies and other diseases.
However, a point to be noted here is that in the past decade there
has been a declining trend in the life expectancy ratios of men and
women. As women too continue to indulge in unhealthy lifestyle habits
such as drinking, smoking, taking drugs, not eating nutritious meals and
getting competitive with women leading to increased levels of stress as
well engaging in violent behavior too in their younger years, the life
expectancy of women is also expected to decline, shortening the gap
between them and men. Also, the crime against women such as homicide and
rapes are on the rise. Whether you are a man or a woman, we must all
start
living a holistic lifestyle to enjoy the gift of life for longer and with a healthy body.