Why Women Won’t Live Longer Than Men In The Future
Dr Vernon Coleman
The difference in life expectation between men and women will not continue far into the 21st century. This is not because men are going to live longer but because women are going to die sooner.
(In fact, since I wrote the first edition of my book `How to Live Longer’ there has already been an equalling of life expectancies among men and women.)
I base this prediction on simple observations.
1. The number of women who smoke cigarettes is rising dramatically. Visit any large town, find yourself a convenient seat, and watch the young people go by. You will soon notice that smoking is now much commoner among young girls than it is among young boys. The statistical evidence supports this simple observation.
2. The incidence of alcoholism among women is rising too. A few decades ago, it was rare to find a woman who had wrecked her life and her health with alcohol. Today it is commonplace.
3. Increasing numbers of women have been suckered by the women’s liberation movement into believing that they owe it to themselves and their ‘sisters’ to take a more masculine attitude to life. Modern women have demanded, and have taken, the same sort of damaging stresses as were endured by men throughout the 20th century. Many women seem more aggressive and more ‘masculine’ than men. The incidence of stress related disorders among women is going to rocket in the next generation or two.
4. Women are taking their exercise more seriously too – they have become more competitive and they push themselves harder when they are allegedly relaxing.
5. As women take an increasingly masculine approach to life so they abandon their traditional, health giving relationships with their female friends. Many women now feel that it is somehow ‘beneath them’ to need to share their fears, their feelings and their weak moments with other women. Women are making themselves tougher and more self-sufficient. The effect on their health will be bad.
This essay was taken from Dr Vernon Coleman’s book `How to Live Longer’ which is available via the bookshops on www.vernoncoleman.com
Copyright Vernon Coleman October 2023
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