Why Do Women Live Longer Than Men?
Written by Kathryn Savage
Eat less live longer? 
It’s a popular belief that women, on average, tend to outlive men and that caloric restriction tends to increase healthy years of life. But why? New research being conducted in Spain and Italy suggests that a liver protein may be responsible.
The study, involving lab rats, focused on the livers of female rats, and the livers of rats on a calorie-restricted diet. Regardless of sex calorie-restricted rats generated different levels of 27 proteins that hearty-eating rats failed to produce. Ladies? Female rats generated the same 27 proteins simply for being a girl.
The findings suggest that a set of cellular pathways, once ignored in the longevity debate, might be involved in increasing longevity among picky eaters and women. They also point out that women in Hollywood may outlive all of us.
What about exercise?
A separate study suggests that the benefits a calorie-restricted diet has on longevity (disease prevention, joint health), is more easily achieved by eating less rather than working out (and thus burning more calories than non-exercisers).
Changes in hormones that occur when mice eat significantly less may play a prominent role in longevity.
Derek M. Huffman, the recent studies lead author, said in a report, “We know that being lean rather than obese is protective from many diseases, but key rodent studies tell us that being lean from eating less, as opposed to exercising more, has greater benefit for living longer.”
Why?
His reasoning is that eating less across the board seems to be a better deterrent from multiple diseases than exercise alone. Another theory rooted in Huffman's study is that exercise places stress on the body, stress on the joints and potentially stress on the heart, and this damages tissue and DNA. A third hypothesis is that caloric restriction creates physiological changes that benefit the body. Want to learn more? Read all about his research here.
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