Men Versus Women: Who's Healthier?

Study after study has been done to determine the answer to this question. Time after time, the results do not point to a clear winner. Have we stopped to question why this is so? Why is there no obvious choice between genders?

The answer is simple, there are too many other factors to consider that really affect our state of health that have nothing to do with male or female characteristics.

Our overall state of health is dependent upon several factors: our diet, our exercise, our work habits, and our genetics. The first three contributors cross all gender lines, and we find we have males and females in all sort of occupations, with all sorts of eating habits, and exercise habits. The only factor that contributes to our health that might possibly be gender based is our genetic disposition.

When you talk about our genetic disposition, you really have to understand that as a person, we received input from two parents: a mother and a father. While it is true that we normally take many of our traits from our mother if we are female, and from our father if we are male, it is not a 100% guaranteed fact that if we are male we inherit only our father's traits and if we are female we inherit only our mother's traits.

Our health is the culmination of inherited possibilities, and daily consistencies. We might inherit the potential for heart disease, but if we live a life of good eating habits, good exercise habits, and attend to nutritional and rest requirements; we can often overcome the inherited potential.

This is why the line between, who's healthier, is a hard one to draw. Men versus women usually have nothing to do with the healthier side. A better question might be to ask, who's healthier, the person who exercises daily, or the couch potato? Here it is possible to draw definite conclusions based on one party or the other's distinct choices and lifestyles. These are the genuine contributors to the health questions.

We are able to say with certainty that women have longer life spans than their male counterparts. But does that equate to healthier? No, it just equates to longer lives. Quantity is not equal to quality. It is true, that the healthier you keep your body, the greater your odds of living a longer life. But one does not always equal to the other. There are other factors that come into play about life span that have nothing to do with health. Men are often greater risk takers than women, thus they have a higher death rate at a younger age, simply because they aren't the careful cautious creatures that women often are.

Women have longer life spans, but spend more of their time in sedentary activities. Does this contribute to a healthier individual? No. Sedentary lifestyles make us less healthy. It is the need for physical activity that contributes to our healthy state. The more we sit, the less muscle we develop, the less we are able to condition our bodies for optimal health. So as you see, it's not a simple yes or no question. No matter which gender would prefer to be the victor, it's not a male versus female issue.