Posted 1/15/2010

WHY WOMEN LIVE LONGER THAN MEN

It has nothing to do with some kind of superior gender gene.

It has nothing to do with obesity, for women tend to get fatter than men.

It has everything to do with activity.

Women are simply more active than men. They do the great majority of housework while hubby sits in front of the TV.

At work, women do most of the fetching jobs. (When was the last time you saw a male get coffee for a female?)

When a birth is going on, the woman is working like hell while hubby watches and waits.

In life, women are constantly moving while men are mostly sedentary.

If we connect the dots among all the studies dealing with health, we find that the more active you are, the longer you will live. And women are the activity champions, hands down. (Men are the sedentary winners, butts down.)

A new study finds that there is a 13% increase in the risk of death if you watch TV from two to four hours a day. But the increased risk of death leaps to 46% if the TV is four or more hours a day. Guess who watches the most TV?

The same study shows that the risk of death by cardiovascular disease is 19% when watching TV two to four hours, but an amazing 80% when watching TV four or more hours.

According to the study, those who watch less TV are more active – and this plays directly on heart health.

An hour of exercise daily does not help with health and longevity if four or more hours are also spent in front of the TV.

Being active during the day is far more important than specific exercise programs.

Another study published last year traced the lives of over 15,000 people who were divided by the researchers into four categories: 1. Skinny Actives, 2. Skinny Inactives, 3. Fatty Actives and 4. Fatty Inactives.

Naturally the Skinny Active group proved healthier and longer lived. But there was a big surprise in second place. The Fatty-Active group was superior to the Skinny-inactive group. This shows the importance of activity over weight as a health driver.

Studies with mice have shown that when two matched groups are fed different amounts of food, the underfed group is healthier and lives longer. But the cause is not food. It's just that hungry mice are more active in moving about looking for the cheese.

Fifteen years ago, I witnessed a small research project conducted with matched pairs of dogs. One group was fed a normal diet. The second group was fed the same diet – but 25% less of it.

The results after 12 years was startling. The normally fed group was sharply diminished in number and those still alive were lying about listlessly. The underfed group had suffered few losses. The remainder were up, barking, wagging their tails and running to greet me. Again, we are not dealing with food as the issue. The underfed dogs were simply more motivated to be active.

Next Thanksgiving, take a good look at your family gathering. The men will be watching football on TV while the women are all bustling about the kitchen and dining room, getting things ready.

Men, forget the game. Get off the sofa and help.

You'll live longer.

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