We may not always feel like it, but according to Tom Kirkwood, Director of the Institute for Ageing and Health at Newcastle University, women’s bodies are better at mending and repairing cells than men.
“In humans, as in most animal species, the state of the female body is very important for the success of reproduction,” quotes the Daily Mail from Kirkwood’s article in Scientific America.
For years, the “world” has suggested that men die earlier than women because of stress during their working career. That theory is perhaps not too far-fetched considering that life expectancy for women and men has been narrowing and , we are working more. However, Kirkwood’s theory is based on the need for a woman to survive beyond giving birth in order to feed her child (breastfeed), making her longevity more important than her male partner who fertilizes the egg and is no longer required (scientifically speaking) after creation.
Simply put, Kirkwood’s article suggests that men’s bodies are disposable and that their cells are not programmed to repair themselves like women’s cells.
“For a long time, we’ve had a paternalistic attitude that women are the weaker sex,” says Kirkwood, who suggests aging is not based on time, but on genetics, “Ageing (SIC) is regulated by genes that specify the levels of maintenance that repair the damage to cells,” says the Guardian article.
Definitely sounds interesting, but based on the fact that heart disease is the number one killer of men and women, maybe it just comes down to the food we eat and the exercise we don’t have time to do.
Side Note: While that all sounds plausible, women’s life expectancy in the U.S. may be more focused on county than genetics. If you want to live longer, you may consider moving. One look at this graphic and it’s not hard to see where women are less likely to thrive – the south – but apparently the grim reaper doesn’t discriminate. Men in that region also appear to check out early.