Science News Archive

Why Women Outlive Men

On average women outlive men by 5 years, but why ? A study from a team of scientists lead by Professor David Goldspink from Liverpool University studied 250 men and women of various ages and found that, between the ages of 17 and 70, the male heart loses around a third of contractile cells that enable the heart to beat. But this change is not seen in the female heart, suggesting that this is one reason why women live longer than men. But it's not all bad news for the boys, because taking regular exercise can help to ward off some of the age-related changes.

30th Jan 2005