Are Men Aging as Oaks and Women as Reeds? A Behavioral Hypothesis to Explain the Gender Paradox of French Centenarians
Joint Authors
Willcox, Donald Craig
Robine, Jean Marie
Romieu, Isabelle
Balard, Frédéric
Beluche, Isabelle
Source
Issue
Vol. 2011, Issue 2011 (31 Dec. 2011), pp.1-12, 12 p.
Publisher
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Publication Date
2011-11-24
Country of Publication
Egypt
No. of Pages
12
Main Subjects
Pharmacy, Health & Medical Sciences
Abstract EN
Since the 1990s, several studies involving French centenarians have shown a gender paradox in old age.
Even if women are more numerous in old age and live longer than men, men are in better physical and cognitive health, are higher functioning, and have superior vision.
If better health should lead to a longer life, why are men not living longer than women? This paper proposes a hypothesis based on the differences in the generational habitus between men and women who were born at the beginning of the 20th century.
The concept of generational habitus combines the generation theory of Mannheim with the habitus concept of Bourdieu based on the observation that there exists a way of being, thinking, and doing for each generation.
We hypothesized that this habitus still influences many gender-linked behaviours in old age.
Men, as “oaks,” seem able to delay the afflictions of old age until a breaking point, while women, as “reeds,” seem able to survive despite an accumulation of health deficits.
American Psychological Association (APA)
Balard, Frédéric& Beluche, Isabelle& Romieu, Isabelle& Willcox, Donald Craig& Robine, Jean Marie. 2011. Are Men Aging as Oaks and Women as Reeds? A Behavioral Hypothesis to Explain the Gender Paradox of French Centenarians. Journal of Aging Research،Vol. 2011, no. 2011, pp.1-12.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-466724
Modern Language Association (MLA)
Balard, Frédéric…[et al.]. Are Men Aging as Oaks and Women as Reeds? A Behavioral Hypothesis to Explain the Gender Paradox of French Centenarians. Journal of Aging Research No. 2011 (2011), pp.1-12.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-466724
American Medical Association (AMA)
Balard, Frédéric& Beluche, Isabelle& Romieu, Isabelle& Willcox, Donald Craig& Robine, Jean Marie. Are Men Aging as Oaks and Women as Reeds? A Behavioral Hypothesis to Explain the Gender Paradox of French Centenarians. Journal of Aging Research. 2011. Vol. 2011, no. 2011, pp.1-12.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-466724
Data Type
Journal Articles
Language
English
Notes
Includes bibliographical references
Record ID
BIM-466724