In 1995 the life
expectancy for women stood at 79 years; for men, it was 73 years. Projections
for 2010 show life expectancy will be 81 years and 74 years, respectively.
(1)
Smoking:
27 percent
of men smoke, compared to 22.6 percent of women. (11)
Exercise:
20.3
percent of men participate in regular sustained activity, compared to 18.9
percent of women. (13)
14 percent
of women participate in regular vigorous activity, compared to 11.6 percent
of men. (13)
31.5
percent of women do not participate in physical activity, compared to 27.3
percent of men. (13)
Overweight:
25.6
percent of women 20 to 34 years old are overweight, compared to 25.4 percent
of men. (12)
36.8
percent of women 35 to 44 years old are overweight, compared to 34.9 percent
of men. (12)
45.4
percent of women 45 to 54 years old are overweight, compared to 37.7 percent
of men. (12)
48.2
percent of women 55 to 64 years old are overweight, compared to 43.7 percent
of men. (12)
42.9
percent of men 65 to 74 years old are overweight, compared to 42.3 percent
of women. (12)
35.1
percent of women 75 years old and over are overweight, compared to 27.7
percent of men. (12)
Health coverage:
Men under the
age 65 are less likely to be covered under any insurance plan than women.
(9)
Government spending:
The National Institute of Health spends 10 percent
of its budget on women's health issues and 5 percent
on men's health issues. (1)
Cancer:
190,000 more men
are diagnosed with a cancer than women each year. (10)
29,000 more men died of cancer in 1992 than women. (2)
Prostate cancer:
Prostate cancer
is almost as serious for men as breast cancer is for women. 44,000 women
die of breast cancer while 41,000 men die of prostate cancer each year.
(3)
Every twelve
minutes a man died of prostate cancer in 1997. (4)
334,500 men were
diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1997. (4)
"Since 1992, the number of American men diagnosed with prostate cancer
has risen from 132,000 to 317,000." (3)
"The National Cancer Institute directed $1.8 billion toward breast cancer
research and $376 million to prostate cancer research projects."
(3)
"The government spends $250 for each man diagnosed with prostate cancer
and about $2,000 for each death, according to the American Foundation for
Urologic Disease. It spends $3,000 on every woman diagnosed with
breast cancer and $12,000 for each death." (3)
The Department of Defense spent "about $20 million for prostate cancer
research and $455 million on breast cancer research from 1993 through 1996."
(3)
Suicide:
Males are at
least four times more likely to die from suicide
than are females. However, females are more likely to attempt suicide than
are males. Statistically, every twenty minutes a
man commits suicide. (5)
Men accounted
for 81 percent of suicides from 1980-1992 among persons aged 65 years and
older. From 1980-1992, the rate for men in this age group increased 10
percent. The rate for women was unchanged. (5)
AIDS:
Men will comprise of 86 percent of all deaths
from AIDS-related symptoms during the mid-1990's. (6)
AIDS
is the leading cause of death for men between the ages of 25-44.
AIDS is the third leading cause of death for women between the ages of
25-44. (6)
Heart attacks:
66
percent
of Americans who experience heart attacks are men. (7)
Men
between the ages 29-44 have a 41 times higher chance of having a heart
attack than women. (7)
Men
still have a higher chance of having heart attack than women between the
ages 45-64. That chance is three times higher than women. Only until men
and women turn 65 and older women have about equal number of heart attacks.
The difference is a 15 percent lower rate
for women. (7)
Strokes:
54
percent
of Americans who experience a stroke are men. (8)
Sources:
1- US Census Bureau.
2- National Center for Health Statistics and the American Heart Association.
3- Special Report- "Dying for Dollars," Harry Jaffe, Men's Health, September 1997.
4- American Cancer Society.
5- National Center for Health Statistics at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
6- "Where Women Stand: An International Report on the Status of Women in 140 Countries 1997-1998" by Naiomi Neft and Ann D. Levine.
7- American Heart Association and Framingham Study, 26-year follow-up.
8- American Heart Association and Framingham Study, 24-year follow-up.
9- National Health Statistics and US Census Bureau.
10- American Cancer Society.
11- Survey done in 1995. U.S. National Center for Health Statistics, Health United States, 1996-97 and Injury Chartbook, 1997, and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Vol. 46, No. 51, Dec. 26, 1997.
12- The study, which excludes pregnant women, represents the years 1988-1994. U.S. National Center for Health Statistics, Health, United States, 1996-1997.
13- U.S. National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, 1996. Sustained activity is any type of activity that occurs five times or more per week and 30 minutes or more per occasion. Vigorous activity is rhythmic contraction of large muscle groups performed at 50 percent or more of estimated age- and sex-specific maximum cardiorespiratory capacity, three times per week or more for at least 20 minutes per occasion.
Book Reviews * Legislation * Library * Media * Public Opinion Polls