why do women outlive men on average?

Answer 1

There are lots of factors that vary between men and women that
probably contribute to the differences in average life times.

Many of them are going away - such as men quitting smoking
faster than women so that death due to smoking related reasons
isn't decreasing as fast with women as with men. We now send women
off to war ... though not as many as men.

However, yes, more men smoke than women, men expose themselves
to more carcinogens for job related reasons than women, men are not
forced by society to control there weight as are women (which means
that women don't die of obesity related illnesses the way men do).

And Estrogen is pretty good at holding off heart attacks until after
menopause - so more men die early of heart attacks than women.

Women tend not to get involved in to-the-death fights to the degree
that men do. That is, they are (generally) less violent in a deadly way.

However, there are probably other, more subtle effects of genetics
and physiology that add to this as well.

The list of differences both social and physiological is HUGE. I'm not
sure it is useful to try to point to any single thing.

Answer 2

The research shows that men live shorter lives on average because they have traditionally taken on the task of protecting and providing for the family. Their drive to succeed in the past was higher and their stress levels higher. In fact recent trends show that as women take on a these traditionally male responsibilities the gap between life expectancy of men and women has grown smaller. And women are beginning to suffer the same stress related deceases that have shortened the lives of men for ages.

Answer 3

It's the only way they get to have any peace and quiet.

I joke - because I love!

Honestly I think in the past people put it down to a more strenuous or stressful lifestyle. I wonder if the gap is closing now that women are on more equal footing in the work place. I mean women can be soldiers, firemen, any thing - so by that reasoning it would eventually close the gap.

Maybe it is hormonal. Testosterone tends to make things hard (and perhaps more brittle with age) while estrogen tends to make things soft (and more pliable and flexible - resistant to illness or injury?)

I imagine some men would say that it is because they protect their spouse from danger and stress - or that they just had to get away early to get away from the nagging (lol - again, I kid!)

Peace!

Answer 4

They have recently discovered that its because womens hearts are stronger at an older age, mens pumping power decreases by a quarter of its youthful strength as they get older whereas womens hearts pump just as strongly at 70 than it did at 20. Also childbirth doesnt claim as many of womens lives as it used too and men are more likely to suffer a violent death as, on average,they take more risks. Men usually place themselves in a more dangerous situation than a women as we avoid these for our own safety.

Answer 5

Statistically , single women live longer than married women.
Statistically , married men live longer than single men.
Once the men have outlived their ability to provide good quality sperm they are living on borrowed time, whilst older women continue to have a childcaring purpose to enable the younger mothers to go and continue 'hunter-gathering'.

Answer 6

Well women are more likely to get lung cancer and men less likely, but men are more likely to die from lung cancer than a women. Thats one reason women outlive men, just do some more research.

Answer 7

Women are expected to be thin, fit and healthy ( not that I agree to all of these things). Men as well do have these standards yet they're not as pressed in society as it is for women. Therefore women usually have a better and longer life because of the way they are expected to live it.

Answer 8

Mostly, the effects of estrogen are protective in a cardiovascular sense, while the effects of testosterone tend to increase cardiovascular risk as testosterone increases. This results in more wear-and-tear on the arteries for men and less for women, up to the point of menopause, when women lose that protection. They still have accumulated less damage up to that point in time.

There are other risk differences at different stages of life - adolescent risk-taking is sometimes termed 'testosterone-storm' in male teens, and increases risk of accidental death in males.
Smoking and drinking are risky behaviour and are higher among males.
See article for a more thorough breakdown.

Answer 9

Theroy 1...
Women sit down when they use the toilet, wheras men stand up. All those minutes of briefly conserving their energy multiplied by weeks, months and years, leads to women having a longer life.

Theory 2...
The constant nagging that women give men slowly decays the male mind leading to a premature death.

Theory 3...
Men do more physical labour than women. Again, it comes down to women not over-exerting themselves and living longer that way.

Answer 10

Not to make anyone mad but if you think about it women get more exercise than me. They run around the house cleaning, running errands for the household, etc and some maintain a job on top of that.

Answer 11

Men have more stresses in their lives. Men don't deal well with these stresses and tend to keep these internalized. While women tend to talk about their problems and reduce the stress in their life.