women. In Malawi, the life expectancy for both men and women is 40 years. In the remaining 134 countries, the life expectancy advantage for women ranges from one year to 11 years (World Bank, 2006). The highest levels of longevity are in Japan, where the life expectancy for women is 85 years and the life expectancy for men is 78years (Dupre, Guangya, & Gu, 2008).
Life expectancy is "highly correlated with income" (World Bank, 2006, p. 59). Life expectancy increases as income increases. This association, however, does not provide an explanation for gender-related variations in life expectancy. Life expectancy also increases as formal educational attainment increases (Meara, Richards, & Cutler, 2008). Further, life expectancy is higher among urban dwellers than among rural dwellers. Access to quality health care also is associated with increased life expectancy. Again, however, these associations do not reverse the gender-related variations in life expectancy that favor women (World Bank, 2006).
Thompson (2008) contends that chronic illness explains much of the gender-related variations in life expectancy. The contention is that men, more so than women, (a) develop chronic illnesses and (b) develop such illnesses earlier in life that is true of women. Such contentions could be supported by male behaviors that include (or have included in the past) greater tobacco use and greater alcohol consumption.
The findings of Cepeda and Gammack (2006) were consistent with the contentions of Thompson (2008). Cepeda and Gammack (2006) found that the frequency of cancer in older men was greater than in older women. The increased frequency of cancer in men, in turn, contributed to an increase in the gender-based variation in life expectancy.
Confusing the issue, however, were the findings of Muennig, Lubetkin, Jia, and Franks (2006). They found that obesity, which is becoming a chronic condition in many develo...