Why Don’t Men Live as Long as Women? 

Since the early 1900s, women have been living longer than men. Of course, there are historical events which may explain this for certain periods of time, such as WW1 and WW2, but why have men not caught back up? Why in today’s society are Australian women living almost 4 years longer than Australian  men?

Today, we ask Georgia, Senior  Exercise Physiologist to giver her opinion on why there is a significant gap in the average life expectancy of men and women in Australia, and how men can take back control and beat the odds. 

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) recently reported a boy born between 2019-2021 could be expect to live to 81.3 years, a girl can be expected to live to 85.4 years. 

This phenomena is not limited to just Australia. Across the globe, on average, women live longer than men. Interestingly, this is especially prevalent in developed countries.

So why don’t men live as long? We don’t have a concrete answer, but there are definitely both behavioural and biological differences in men and women that may contribute to this discrepancy. 

There is plenty of data to support that men are more likely than women to engage in risk taking behaviours. This includes smoking, which as we all know, significantly increases your risk of developing chronic diseases such as cancer. 

From a biological perspective, scientist believe that estrogen, a hormone found in much higher levels in women then men, may protect against cardiovascular disease. However, we also know that women’s levels of estrogen significantly decrease after menopause, making women more susceptible to osteoporosis. Which in itself can have a serious impact on morbidity and mortality if not managed correctly. 

 

The good news? You don’t have to be a women to reduce your risk of developing heart disease. And you certainly don’t have to smoke if you’re a man. Men can absolutely take control of these risks factors, and they can beat the statistics. 

Although there is no quantitative evidence to support this, I have certainly observed through my years as an Exercise Physiologist at Longevity that men are more likely to bury their head in the sand when it comes to confronting their health. I believe this must also be influencing the gap in life expectancy in men and women. 

So how do we  get more men to start paying attention to their health and take a proactive approach? At Longevity Exercise Physiology, we believe we have the answer.

Longevity Exercise Physiology take a longe term approach to health, setting our clients up for success now and into the future. We are a gym based Exercise Physiology service, making us accessible to everyone. For men, I believe this is particularly important. Being in a gym and not a clinic ensures our clients feel like “normal people,” who can exercise in a community setting like everyone else.  All our sessions are one on one and an hour in duration, meaning the men in our lives are finally getting the education and accountability they need to make a change. 

At Longevity, we are with you for the long haul. We see clients of all ages and different stages of life.

Our goal is to not only help our clients increase their lifespan, but also their heath span (quality of life.) Because why would you want to beat odds on average life expectancy and not be able to make the most of those extra years!

Longevity Exercise Physiology feel strongly about improving the life expectancy of Australian men. As part of our men’s health campaign, give yourself, Dad, Grandad or Son the Gift of Longevity and call  Longevity Exercise PhysiologyDrummoyne, Edgecliff, Marrickville, Castle Hill, Randwick, Pymble, Kingsgrove, Neutral Bay,Rhodes, Five Dock, Casey,Gungahlinand Coburg on 1300 964 002  to book an initial consult with one of our Exercise Physiologists.

Written By Georgia Wassall

Resources

https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/life-expectancy-deaths/deaths-in-australia/contents/life-expectancy#