Portrait of a mature couple spending quality time together outdoors
Over the years, medical scientists have suggested that women live longer than men with researches showing a survival advantage for females in all reviews.
Researches have also been carried out toward unraveling the cause of this riddle.
Two researchers, Stephen Austad and Katherine Fischer, both of the University of Alabama, U.S., in a piece published on June 14, 2016, held that humans are “the only specie in which one sex is known to have ubiquitous survival advantage”.
It said that the sex difference in longevity might be one of the most robust features of human biology.
Other scientists have written on this riddle with some arguing that women live longer because they have two ‘X’ chromosomes which ensure a back-up when a genetic mutation occurs in one of the genes, while men have only one ‘X’ chromosome and, thus, without such back-up.
In developing nations like Nigeria, however, men are believed to die quicker because of societal pressure.
In the populous African nation, men are seen as more likely to be hit by high blood pressure, stroke and related illnesses because they shoulder the burden of catering for the families. The pressure multiplies after marriage as wives’ relations queue in for attention.
But, as humanity ponders over the reasons behind the lifespan riddle, scientists have continued to inquire into how men can equal, or even surpass, women in longevity.
One such scientist often mentioned is Dr Karen Weatherby, a German whose research suggested that men should stare at breasts for 10 minutes a day to improve the wellness of their hearts and live longer.
Another study by Mark Eis, a professor of homeophatic medicine at Naple University, made similar claims with the researcher declaring that staring at women’s boobs could increase a man’s life expectancy by four to six years.
But, while the claims appear controversial, though popular, especially among men, Michael Stang, a science journalist based in Germany, has debunked it.
“There is no scientific research or papers to back the claims. It is a hoax and obviously a very unsuccessful one,’’ Stang snapped.
