A comparison between the lifestyles of men and women--parents of school age children.

Women live longer than men and experience lower overall and specific mortality resulting from various diseases, even when younger. The reasons for this have yet to be satisfactorily explained. However, biological differences on one hand and differing lifestyles on the other might be responsible. The purpose of the study was to examine to what extent the lifestyle of men and women differs within a relatively homogeneous population group. The lifestyles of 4,353 parents of school age children (58% women and 42% men) were examined using questionnaires. The results show considerable differences between the genders. Men had worse dietary habits--consuming significantly less vegetables, fruit and milk, but too much meat; they consumed more processed meat and fat-containing items within the food sub-categories; they preferred less low-fat milk products and consumed less wholemeal products. Men more often consumed alcohol, drank more of it and often crossed the limits hazardous for health. There were more smokers among the men, they smoked more cigarettes and the non-smokers more often indicated passive exposure to cigarette smoke. Overweight and obesity occurred more often among men. Relatively minor differences, rather to the benefit of men, occurred in the field of leisure-time physical sporting activities, where slightly more men pursued regular sporting activities but in significantly higher amounts than the women, whereas the men did less regular daily walking. Women, as opposed to men, displayed more interest in comprehensive primary preventive medical examinations. The results obtained suggest that women lived a generally more healthy lifestyle than men within the examined homogeneous group of parents of school age children, consisting mostly of pairs of partners. They support the assumption that the healthier lifestyle of women very significantly contributes to their lower mortality.