A research group at Uppsala University analyzed data of over 140 thousand people from the Utah population database (USA) to find out why women live longer than men. Scientists made an interesting finding, Science Daily reported.
Women have not always been outliving men. 200 years ago males lived longer than females. The scholars believe they found an important factor that influences life expectancy of women and men.
Why Women Live Longer Than Men
Scientists assert that the duration of a woman’s life depends on how many children she has. The more children a female has, the shorter her lifespan will be, academics propose.
In the early 1800s, statistics show that women on average gave birth to 8.5 children. In the 1900s, this number dropped to 4.2. If 200 years ago men outlived women by 2 years, the situation changed within the next century: women lived on average 4 years longer than men. Apparently, there is a definite relationship between fertility rates and women’s life expectancy.
Scientists attribute this to the fact that each person has a certain amount of resources that one can invest into reproduction and health. The more children a woman has, the more resources she spends and the less resources she has to spend on her own health. This is the price females have to pay for reproduction.
For example, a female who had 15 kids lived on average about 6 years shorter than the one with only one child. Thus, reduced reproduction rates contribute to the increase in life expectancy, since women pay a higher price for having kids than men.
This study highlights the need to take into account the influence of biological aspects when studying mortality rates in world’s populations. Scientists believe that the demographic situation and life expectancy vary over time as the fertility rates change.
Scientists assert that having fewer children helped women live longer.
Read also:
- Why Women Outnumber Men in Russia and Ukraine
- Showrtage of Russian Men Fuels Demographic Migration
- Marriage and Divorce in Russia, 2015 Statistics
- Male Fertility — New Women Make Men More Fertile
There is also another interesting fact. According to scientific research, unmarried men live longer than those who are married. They say that married men have more stressful life because they always think how to provide and protect their family. It’s important for a man to be successful in society and his family is the main success rate.
Marina, which research are you referring to? UK and Australian research shows married men are healthier and live longer.
I do believe that a part of us survives in our kids. We live in our children. So reproduction is the only answer to mortality. And women are gifted with more stamina to overcome difficulties of childbearing. Just a small improvement of life conditions let us live longer. We should find a golden mean between giving birth to 1 or 15 children.
It is very interesting fact, but I think women live longer than men because they have a strong felling of self-preservation. It’s not a secret that women have more safety jobs. Yes, may be a lot of them have different other hard housework and many problems that make them nerves, but still. It also depends on the way of lifestyle. Actually a lot of fact influence the duration of our life.
I don’t know about other countries, but in Russia there is one more interesting factor. Last few decades men began to remember their roots and do a lot of different, very dangerous sports. So, that why women live longer the men, as I think=)
It’s very interesting research and it really has logic – the more children you have the more stress you have, so I think that’s why nowadays we have tendency to have less children than earlier or do not have them at all. Modern society is aimed at other purposes.
There are many facts and opinions to explain why women live longer than men. For me the most important facts followings:
-men are more prone to suicide than women ;
-men consume more cigarettes alcohol than women;
-men don’t pay more attention to their health.