Why women live longer than Men…!!

Writing after so long time makes me feel so good, and coming to today’s topic as promised in my last article. The super interesting topic… why we women live longer than men ?? Anyone have ever thought of this?? What must be the reason behind this ? Looking at Men it looks like Men should live longer than women… However having just the Strong muscle doesn't makes you live longer. It is still the fact ,No Offence to Men out there!! There are certain factors included in this topic and are scientifically correct. Lets jump in to this and check why and how it happens…!!

Everywhere in world women live longer than men- but this was not always the case. The available data from 19th century shows that women didn’t live longer than men it has increased over time.

As per 2017, life expectancy for men was 76.1 years, while life expectancy for women reached 81.1 years. According to U.S. Census Bureau, women’s life expectancy is projected to reach 87.3 years by 2060, compared with 83.9 years for men. Among humans, women’s life span is almost 8% on average longer than men’s life span. But among wild mammals , females in 60% of the studied species have , on average 18.6% longer lifespans. The ratio is considerably different for different groups of mammals. In the past 200 years, the average life expectancy of humans has more than doubled due to improved living conditions and advances in medicine. Yet women continue to live longer than men, suggesting the biological differences also have a role.

Study shows that differences in chromosomes and hormones between men and women affect longevity. For eg, males tend to have more fat surrounding organs , that is they have more visceral fat (Visceral fat is a type of body fat that’s stored within the abdominal cavity), whereas women tend to have more fat sitting directly under the skin that is subcutaneous fat (Subcutaneous fat is the jiggly fat visible just under the skin. Subcutaneous fat is normally harmless and may even protect against some diseases). The difference is determined both by estrogen and the presence of the second X chromosome in females, and it matters for longevity because fat surrounding the organs predicts cardiovascular disease.

“To ensure good health: eat lightly, breathe deeply, live moderately, cultivate cheerfulness, and maintain an interest in life.”

However, biological differences can only be the part of the story — otherwise we would not see such large differences across the world and over time. Perfect answer for this is never found but yes we do have some clues, we know that changes in smoking habits among men have affected mortality patterns.

HEALTH FACTORS AND STUDIES

According to WHO , 40 % of men are smokers compared to 9 % of women. Also, fewer women tend to abuse alcohol compared to men. Scientists confirm that these habits make men more prone to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer , coronary heart disease. digestive problems , and liver disease. Studies also show that compared to women, men are at higher risk of developing Diabetic Nephropathy. The Testosterone may stimulate the prostate gland and increase the risk of prostate cancer. Also, testosterone improves reproductive function earlier in life but shortens the lifespan in the long run that is Antagonistic Pleiotropy effect(the best accepted theory for the evolutionary origin of aging).

ESTROGEN PRESENCE IN WOMEN

• Maintaining Female sexual organs .
• Estrogen helps in blood clotting.
• Increases the level of good cholesterol and maintains gastrointestinal tract.
• Estrogen also has antioxidant properties and helps delay the decrease of skin collagen in women as they grow older.

It is because of estrogen’s productive effect, premenopausal are less likely to have coronary heart disease than men and women who hit menopause.

The extra X chromosome in female DNA is somehow said to be responsible for survival .

And we know that historical medical advances have affected health outcomes for men and women differently. The longer lifespan of women is common in other animals , but it is not universal. Biological ,behavioral and environmental factors all contribute to the fact that women live longer than men, but we don’t know exactly how strong the relative contribution of each of these factor is.

So always try to stay healthy and eat healthy as our own habits are likely more responsible factor of survival may it women or men.

“Health is not valued till sickness comes”.