Eli5: Why do women live longer than men on average, even among the older population like supercentenarians?
In: 2368
It seems that most people here are missing the woods for the trees. Women live longer on average because men engage in more dangerous activities and therefore just DIE.
99% of workplace fatalities are men. Most homicide victims are men. Most frontline soldiers are men. Most people who work dangerous jobs are… men. Most firefighters, most electrician and most plumbers are men. Male life expectancy is much lower because men do more dangerous things. This comes from choice such as what job you want to do as well as things you are expected to do (if you have to fix a leaky roof, the guy will likely go out there and do it rather than his wife).
Seems pretty obvious.
https://arc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.com/public/73GYNUZKPU2YJMQPHEHTVOMFWY.png
There’s a relationship between body mass and longevity that’s thought to be associated with lower cancer incidence.
Basically, if all other things being equal, every cell has some chance of becoming cancerous. If you have more cells, that’s like buying more lottery tickets.
Don’t know how big of an effect this is (larger body mass may just strain the body more, for example), but it’s not 0.
Apart from any alleged genetic factors,
Women are less likely to take risks or risky jobs, less likely to smoke, drink to excess, or have a lousy diet, and more likely to see doctors when they’re sick.
Latest Answers