Why women live longer

Scientists have finally come up with an answer to this boggling question. Many reasons have been put forward, and some of them hold merit. Women do have a reduced rate of obesity, they are less likely to smoke and they don’t participate in as much risk-taking behaviour. All of these factors help women in the longevity stakes. But they aren’t enough to explain the substantial gap between male and female life expectancy.

So what’s the answer? It’s in their DNA. Every cell in your body contains mitochondria. Mitochondria are responsible for producing energy in your cells, but they also house a thing called mitochondrial DNA. While everyone, male and female, has mitochondrial DNA, scientists have recently found that only men are susceptible to mutations in this DNA.

This means that mutations have crept in over the centuries, such as factors which cause early male ageing, which are obviously only harmful to men. The study took into account the different hormones in men and women, and the tendency for men to lead riskier lifestyles than women.

Read the original article The Mother’s Curse Explains Why Women Live Longer Than Men