In a new book, Why Men Die First, Marianne Legato, a specialist in gender-specific medicine of a prestigious university of US, explains: They're genetically and biologically fragile to start with, she says, and societal norms that encourage and even demand risky behavior by men put them at risk. Still, Legato told U.S. News, men and their families can push back. She highlighted seven reasons why males die prematurely—and seven actions they can take to prolong their time. 1.
Males are burdened with natural genetic deficits. While every cell in a woman's body has two large X chromosomes, men have one X and one smaller Y chromosome; the Y is half the size. The "spare" X chromosomes allow women's bodies to compensate when faced with damage in ways that men's cells cannot. In addition, mutations are three to six times more likely in a Y chromosome than an X chromosome. This genetic deficit…