10/31/1995 -
Almanac, Vol.42, No. 10, Page 13
Dr. Waldron Examines Gender
Differences in Health Behaviors and
Their Links with Male and Female Roles
By Esaśl S‡nchez with Jerry Russo
On average, women in the United States live longer than men. But why? How do certain behaviors affect their health and life span?
Dr. Ingrid Waldron, Penn professor of biology, looks at national data that indicates health trends by gender and age in the United States, and tries to find reasons for those trends. She has recently written chapters on the subject for two books that update research linking behavior with health.
The longevity edge that women enjoy over men has been attributed to a combination of factors such as these:
- Fewer women smoke than men. Although recent trends show similar numbers of male and female smokers among young adults, in older age groups--where smoking is a big killer--the number of male smokers is greater.
- More men drink heavily and, as a result, develop liver diseases.
- More men engage in higher risk behaviors such as drunk-driving and holding dangerous jobs. Even in childhood, boys' play is riskier than girls' play.
- Women's biochemistry tends to reduce their risk of heart disease. The female hormone estrogen lowers the type of cholesterol in the blood that increases risk of heart disease. But the male hormone testosterone reduces the type of cholesterol that safeguards against heart disease.
- Women tend to accumulate fatty deposits around legs and thighs (the "pear shape"). Men tend to develop fatty deposits above the waist (the "apple shape"). Fatty deposits associated with the apple shape appear to increase the risk of diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.
- Since the late 1980s, women have started using seat belts more frequently than men.
- Women eat more fruits and vegetables.
Yet these advantages may be offset by certain behaviors that hurt women's health. Examples include:
- Women exercise less than men.
- Women tend to practice excessive dieting, which has a negative impact on health.
By analyzing recent trends in gender differences in health behavior in the United States, Dr. Waldron has shown that women and men are becoming more similar in some types of health behavior, but gender differences in other types of health behavior are not decreasing. Gender differences in smoking, for example, have decreased substantially, but gender differences in heavy drinking remain very large. Similarly, gender differences in amount of driving have decreased in recent decades, but gender differences in seat belt use have actually increased during the 1980s.
Dr. Waldron believes that these trends can be explained by considering the compatibility of particular types of health behavior with male and female roles. Many young women, for example, are smoking as a way to control weight. "Women are supposed to look slender and beautiful. Women are very appearance-oriented with good reasons. Appearance affects their success in a variety of spheres," she observed.
In contrast, heavy drinking is less compatible with women's roles, including responsibility for sexual restraint and care of small children. "Drinking does make it hard to be a parent the next morning if you're totally hung over," Dr. Waldron explained. In many families, she added, "Men are only expected to work during the week, which is less affected by weekend drinking."
Gender roles and the differing social expectations and pressures on men and women, therefore, continue to have powerful effects on gender differences in health behavior and mortality in the contemporary United States, according to Dr. Waldron.
Jerry Russo is a freshman workstudy student in News and Public Affairs.
Questions? Comments? Send e-mail to The Compass.