Newspapers started writing about Betty Lowe when she was 96 years old, yet still volunteering at a cafe at Salford Royal Hospital, serving coffee, washing dishes, and chatting up patients. Then Betty turned 100 , then 102 , then 104. Even at 106 Betty Lowe would come work at the cafe once a week, despite her failing eyesight.
All across the world women outlive men. Russia tops the charts with 11.6 years of difference between the sexes . On the other end of the scale are countries such as Iceland , Sweden , or the UK . For one, scientists now believe that the female-male longevity gap is partly imprinted into our bodies . The second reason may have to do with generally healthier female lifestyles — less gun-shooting, less show-off driving, and more broccoli. Yet there is more.
Take volunteering, for example. One meta-analysis of studies from countries as diverse as Israel, Taiwan, and the US showed that middle-aged and older adults who volunteer have on average 24 percent lower mortality risk than do those who eschew such altruistic engagements. That’s a lot —about the same risk reduction that you may get from following the famed Mediterranean diet. Volunteers also spend less time in hospitals and have lower risk of cardiovascular disease.
Women, meanwhile, tend to engage more in volunteering, charity and caregiving than do men. They leave more bequests to charities and are more generous alumni than male graduates. A study on giving in Indiana showed that single women are even 10 percent more likely to be donors than are single men. Women are also nearly 30 percent more inclined to volunteer.