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[HighAmperage]

I would guess the rise in obesity has to be among the main reasons. Strictly anecdotal, obviously, but I'm in what could be called the south, and I see far, far more women than men who would qualify as obese.

 

[Blargonaut]

Hasn't pollution decreased in the US? I'm pretty sure the air is cleaner than it was ten years ago.

Altho' da air might be cleaner country-wide
There be a source of bad air closer to yo' hide
Ignite da leaf or burn da stick? You only shorten yo' own wick

I'm talkin' 'bout pollution in tobaccy, not da sky

 

[Opiate]

I suppose obesity is the most likely culprit.

I can think of a couple things.

Obesity is one, but men are also getting obese, but living longer. It isn't likely the only factor.

Poor diet is another. Not just in the "makes you fat" sort of way, but in the "clogs your arteries/gives you high BP/etc" sort of way.

Finally, stress. Women are in the workforce like never before, and historically, a primary culprit for men's shorter lifespans is their workplace involvement causing stress. As women enter the workforce and gain more responsibility, they also gain more stress.

 

[number47]

Obesity can't be it. Women don't get fat. If they did,surely someone would of told them.

 

[TheRedSnifit]

Altho' da air might be cleaner country-wide
There be a source of bad air closer to yo' hide
Ignite da leaf or burn da stick? You only shorten yo' own wick

I'm talkin' 'bout pollution in tobaccy, not da sky

.

 

[entremet]

I can think of a couple things.

Obesity is one, but men are also getting obese, but living longer. It isn't likely the only factor.

Poor diet is another. Not just in the "makes you fat" sort of way, but in the "clogs your arteries/gives you high BP/etc" sort of way.

Finally, stress. Women are in the workforce like never before, and historically, a primary culprit for men's shorter lifespans is their workplace involvement causing stress. As women enter the workforce and gain more responsibility, they also gain more stress.

Interestingly enough men and female life spans used to be roughly the same.

Advances in prenatal and child birth care helped women get an advantage over the years. Many women died in child birth before modern medicine.

 

[iamblades]

But obesity is a problem among both genders. Why is the life expectancy of women declining, but men have stabilized?

Because men and women have different standard for obesity given the difference in average body compositions, so even if the percentage of obesity is the same, it may impact women more.

Also while more men overall may be obese, more than double the number of women are morbidly obese(>40 BMI) compared to men. This is where the huge increases in mortality risk occur, so it doesn't really matter how many men are in the 25-35 BMI range if more women are in the 40+ range.

 

[ishibear]

Interesting. I would wager that stress, living conditions and diet are likely the culprits. This is actually why my family (immediate family) has resorted to completely eliminating fast food from our diet. Now stress? That isn't so easy to erase from daily life haha

 

[jmdajr]

Obesity can't be it. Women don't get fat. If they did,surely someone would of told them.

lol

 

[The Librarian]

I also find it really interesting that this resembles a political map :x.

You have better access to healthcare in liberal states. Not surprising.

 

[Ether_Snake]

Let's see racial demographics on this.

 

[entremet]

Let's see racial demographics on this.

Why is this relevant? The South is still overwhelmingly White.

 

[Parch]

You have better access to healthcare in liberal states. Not surprising.

When a large number of Americans avoid getting medical attention because of financial concerns, that has to be a significant factor. Combine it with poor lifestyle choices and you've got a problem.
Not sure how that applies to the gender differences, but the United States definitely has a healthcare problem.

 

[IAmRandom31]

Well without a solid education you are likely not making much money in life. Without much money in life, many people go without adequate health care here. Without adequate healthcare, and the ability to afford lavish and healthy foods ( generally more expensive then a trip to McDonalds or some hamburger helper ) then you go through your whole life without the same healthy structure " their mothers " may of had.

Stress of more women working maybe?

Of course Obesity is likely. Just spitballing other ideas lol

 

[Rentahamster]

Are men dying younger than their fathers, too? Obesity could be an issue, but are women affected by it more than men?

Sociocultural issues could be at play as well. Throughout history, women have usually had a longer lifespan than men.

Due to advances in medicine and tech, lifespan for humans overall have been increasing, but mens' lifespans are increasing at a faster pace than womens'.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/04/life-expectancy-map/

How long do you have? It depends on gender and geography. In the U.S., women live longer—81 years on average, 76 for men—but a recent study by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation reveals a troubling trend. Though men's life spans have increased by 4.6 years since 1989, women have gained only 2.7 years, perhaps because a larger percentage of women have lacked adequate treatment for high blood pressure and cholesterol. "This is a wake-up call," says study co-author Ali Mokdad.

As our society develops and women achieve greater parity with men on social, cultural, economic, and political fronts, perhaps one of the results of this is that women are also achieving parity with the shorter male lifespan.

 

[Mudcrab]

Why is this relevant? The South is still overwhelmingly White.

Not compared to the rest of the nation.

It's relevant in the sense that we would want to know if this is disproportionally affecting women in the black community. If it is, we'd have to discover the reasons why before we can address the problem.

You have better access to healthcare in liberal states. Not surprising.

Well first you'd have to show this is consistent across the board, then explain why it only affects women, then why it only affects younger women.

 

[gutter_trash]

all the artificial crap in food, preservatives and shit.

Sugar replacement like Nutra-sweet and garbage like that

 

[ChawlieTheFair]

I know why.

Spoiler

Starbucks is bad for you.

 

[Ivan A Nguyen]

I would think Obesity, drug abuse, and stress with work/children might play into it.

These were my thoughts. As someone who's been a stay-at-home parent, I can say it's a much easier life style. I lost about 60 lbs in about 4 months when I put my mind to it. When I started working It took me another 3 months to lose 30 more lbs. Work drains people and it's no shock that it can cause a shorter life span.

You eat crap at work and sit around all the time to work on a computer. You get stressed from work so drug abuse becomes an outlet. You are away from your children and the guilt that is associated with that. It can be especially hard when there is a generation of women over working themselves to be all stars at both work and home.

 

[slit]

Notice it's red in the places without money or with large poor populations. Poverty is the reason for both poor education and poor health.

It is, but it's also a general mistrust of outside influences that's been perpetuated by political and religious leaders in those areas who want to keep them poor and dumb. It's easier to control people's thinking that way.

 

[Ether_Snake]

More single moms too than in the past.

 

[kirblar]

It's relevant in the sense that we would want to know if this is disproportionally affecting women in the black community. If it is, we'd have to discover the reasons why before we can address the problem.

Obesity is an even bigger issue among black women relative to the rest of the country's demographics.

 

[Jarate]

One of the reasons why men had a lower mortality age then women is because of the added responsibilities that men generally had to bare in the past, that women are now able to take control of. This mixed with obesity, drug use, rich people reproducing less, while poorer people are reproducing more, and health care issues are probably the main driving forces behind this.

 

[Hyperactivity]

Wow go Montana! You think you'd live long up there being it's all naturey and stuff.

Anyhow woohoo. Houston in the blue zone.

Just what I was about to post

Go Harris County!

Then again, I'm pretty sure Houston has one of the worst obesity rates in the world, if not THE worst, sooo, you can't go much lower than that I guess

Obviously liberals are poisoning the water supply of conservative counties

DOUBLE COMBO

 

[MutFox]

Is there anyway I can blame this on men?

I think it goes both ways, men blame women for dying early, now women can blame men!

 

[Manmademan]

no one knows why? really?