If the battle of the sexes came down to time, women would win it all. And then some.
Women outlive men by up to six years or longer, depending on which part of the world they live in.
In the United States, the average woman can expect to live to the age of eighty. And her male counterpart?
The average age for a male in the United States is seventy-three. Furthermore, evidence also points to the fact that while living women experience better health longer.
Women in the United States are healthier until age sixty, while American men can expect to be disease-free until the age of sixty-seven.
But why? Or why not?
Factors on Why Women Outlive Men
The answer is twofold and involves both societal and biological factors. Let’s dig into the facts to find out statistically why grandma has a better chance at a longer and healthier life than grandpa.
Biologically women and men are wired differently. And in this case, the biology of a woman works in her favor to add years to her life.
There are a couple of factors at work here. One is that from the very beginning, females have the advantage.
Male mortality is a whopping twenty-five to thirty percent higher than female mortality in the first year of life.
Beyond this, other factors come into play.
Female hormones such as estrogen have been touted by experts as increasing lifespan by helping to protect against heart disease and help to rid the body of bad cholesterol.
Moreover, the female body is designed to withstand pregnancy and breastfeeding and thus is better equipped to face challenges of life and deal with factors such as overeating which can lead to illness and death.
Societal factors on Why Women Outlive Men
However, it doesn’t stop there. When we add in the societal factors, they also favor women.
Overall, life expectancy has increased for both males and females over time, due to advances in medicine and economics, yet women still come out on top.
Why? Some experts point to the fact that man-made diseases are just that.
Diseases that affect more men than women.
For example, men are exposed to more hazardous substances in the workplace; they smoke more and drink more alcohol.
In addition to that, men are more likely to be overweight and to engage in reckless driving and have more motor vehicle accidents than women.
The reason for this has been linked to the male hormone testosterone.
Experts agree that this hormone plays a role in the behaviors that are most commonly attributed to men and that shorten men’s lifespan.
Other researchers have pointed to the fact that women take care and relate to their bodies much more than men on average.
So, what does this mean? It means that they visit the doctor more often and follow through on advice given.
Moreover, women tend to want to look younger and feel healthier, and they make it a priority in their lives.
Men, on the other hand, take risks, won’t seek out medical attention for ailments and even if they do, they don’t heed doctor’s advice and generally engage in behaviors that contribute to a shorter life expectancy.
Whether it’s biological, societal, or a combination of both, the evidence is clear.
Women live longer than men and are in better health longer, by a lot!
So how can our male counterparts catch up to women?
They can’t do much about biology, but taking a look at the societal factors is key. Perhaps men should take a proverbial page out of the book of women and try to even the odds in their favor.
