Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the latest statistics on life expectancy for men and women in the United States. According to this data, in 2004 (the last year analyzed) the average American male lived 77.9 years. What is curious is that once again with these statistics, women’s life expectancy is longer than men’s. In 2004 it was 5.2 years longer. The question then is why does this happen? Why do men live about five years less than women?

It would appear that the fact that men are more likely to smoke cigarettes, abuse alcohol more, and get less physical activity could explain in part why they don’t live as long as women. Furthermore, it’s possible that engaging in riskier activities, in work as well as in recreation, could contribute to a greater number of deaths. For example, between the ages of 15 and 24, due to the so-called “storm of testosterone” (violent, aggressive behavior characteristic of young men), men are four to five times more likely to die than women. At that age, motor vehicle accidents, followed by homicides, suicides, cancer, and drownings, are the most frequent causes of death.

But it appears that the main reason men die earlier than women is that men do not know how to care for their health or seek medical help on time. The chauvinistic ideas with which men have been raised (a macho man does not cry or complain; men that seek help are weak) greatly influence them to ignore their health.

For example, the fact that men do not like to go to the doctor is very well known. In general, men visit their doctors 33 percent less than women, and go for preventive services half as often as women. Furthermore, men are more likely to delay medical visits, know less about health topics, not comply with doctors’ instructions, and feel more uncomfortable communicating with their doctors. For all these reasons, men are admitted more frequently to emergency rooms and their hospital stays are longer.

The good news is that many of the problems affecting men can be prevented or detected on time if a man pays attention to managing his health. He should take the following steps: