Why women outlive men

Ahead of International Day of Older Persons, Indu Balachandran has some profoundly scientific to some perfectly silly reasons for what contributes to longer lives.

Did you know that the Top 50 Oldest Living People in the world today, are all women? Ranging from Tomiko Itooka, 116 years (Japan) to Agnes Brostom, 112 years (Sweden).

There are many explanations why women outlive men — from the profoundly scientific to the perfectly silly. Even the Oldest Living Male today, John Tinniswood of the UK— 112 years this August — is relatively a youngster compared to the 50 women older than him.

Nevertheless, he will be celebrated on International Day of Older Persons on October 1, for surpassing all expectations for his gender.

In today’s world where female infanticide still prevails, and women battle for survival and success, being born male may have its advantages. But longevity is apparently not one of them.

And that’s true now, as it was centuries ago, when life expectancy at birth was 33 years for women and 31 years for men. Today, the highest number is in Hong Kong: averaging 83.5 years for women, and 79.5 years for men.

The X factor

Well, the genetic reason is women and their X factor. Females have two X chromosomes while males have an X and a Y. The extra X in women has a protective effect against harmful mutations, greater immunity to disease and this contributes to their longer lives.

But everyday behavioural differences affect mortality too. Macho Men ignore the odd lump or pain, as it’s not manly to go to hospitals unless there’s a definite medical condition — like blood dripping from a knife stuck in their back.

Wary Women on the other hand feel a faint twinge somewhere, ask their WhatsApp group’s opinions about three alternative doctors, and get the problem fixed by the weekend. The same goes for mental health, and why women’s brains age far more slowly.

A man may bottle up feelings, and stress and mope and brood till he evolves into an axe murderer; a woman will tell five of her best friends over lunch what a jerk her boyfriend is, and return home cured.

Gender experts also point out that women don’t do half the ridiculously dumb things men do, to shorten their life spans. Men smoke, drink, and do drugs three times more than women. They take crazier risks with poisonous stingrays, motorcycle dares and hang from cliffs taking selfies for Instagram.

It is said that when women heads of state are depressed, they go shopping for therapy. Male leaders declare war on a neighbouring country and then send millions of their own kind to an early death.

Dying for attention

Female longevity is true in the jungle too, where female elephants, gorillas, lionesses and tigresses bond with sisters and daughters and look out for each other. But here’s a bizarre reason for early male fatality — mating! Jealousy in the jungle leads to a rather unsustainable all-or-nothing strategy to attract females, involving flamboyant displays and fights to death.

A case in point is the African Turquoise Killifish which turns brightly coloured and gaudy to turn the heads of females; but unfortunately catches the eye of predators too, and is swallowed by the enemy, mid-courtship.

So if you are male and wish to live longer than your mate, you could perhaps pray to be reborn as female, or as a male bird in your next birth. The barnacle goose, the acorn woodpecker and the Arabian babbler are particularly known to outlive their female partners.

Till then, if sense doesn’t sustain ageing men, at least a sense of humour will. As it does for Woody Allen: “I am not afraid of death. I just don’t want to be there when it happens”.

(HeSaid/SheSaid is a monthly column on gender issues — funny side up. Reach the author at [e-mail])