By Dr. Ben Lerner

In developed countries, on the average, women live five to seven years longer than men. In underdeveloped countries, there's a smaller difference, but still a difference. Is this the fate of man, or can something be done?

I once read the reason women live longer than men is that they're not done shopping. I guess one can philosophize it always helps to have a reason to live. However, as any doctor or person in the health and wellness business will tell you, more than 75 percent of all visits, purchases, Web site hits, memberships, etc. are from women. This additional focus on health is the logical key reason women outdistance the men.

While studies show that men do have some physiological and sociological disadvantages, most likely the problem is mental. With any effort, however, these disadvantages can be overcome.

The Physiological Disadvantage and its Solution

Studies done at John Moores University in Liverpool, England, showed there are some things to overcome if you are a male if you want to live as long as the women. They found that 70-year-old men had the hearts of 70-year-olds but their female peers had the hearts of 20-year-olds.

Researchers led by David Goldspink, professor of cell and molecular sports science at John Moores, studied 250 healthy but inactive volunteers ages 18-80 over a two-year period. They showed the power of the male heart fell 20-25 percent from ages 18-70, yet the power of the female heart remained undiminished.

Between ages 20-70, men lose a third of the contractile muscle cells in the walls of their hearts, while women lose hardly any. This is significant as there is a strong link between the number of these cells and the function of the heart. Nonetheless, men can't use this decline as an excuse. In a related study, they discovered the hearts of veteran male athletes were equal to those of inactive 20-year-old male undergraduates.

The Questionable Sociological Disadvantage

In an effort to get ahead and fend for their families, men will often become classic workaholics. There is a story in the Bible that describes the new millennium male very well. In this parable, the man works and works to fill his barn, and never makes time for what's really important. The question that is asked is, "What will he do with all he has stored up when he is dead?" (Luke 12:20)

This parable fits so perfectly in a modern setting. Take, for example, the driven executive who works hard at his business to get ahead, often working seven days a week and long into the night. Although he rarely spends enough time with his wife or children and they even go to many of life's important events without him, he convinces himself that he is doing it all for them and he will give them more time "as soon as things settle down."

When his waistline starts getting bigger and his neck and back hurt after about three or four hours in front of the computer, however, his wife starts bugging him about his weight and telling him he needs to go see a physician for a check-up and get back to the chiropractor. "Who has time to exercise or go to a doctor?" he says to himself. "But I'll start as soon as things settle down."

Eventually his business is doing well and he tells his wife, "We are finally about to be able to do a lot of the things we dreamed of doing: Buy that bigger house, get the nicer car, take a Caribbean vacation, and put the kids in private school." However, there is one more move he must make. If he works nights and weekends, he can get it done before the New Year. "Then things should settle down."

Unfortunately, one night at work he had chest pains and was rushed to the hospital. The doctor told him he had to slow down and start exercising. He was good for a few weeks but soon, it was back to his old habits. One night working late on his laptop at home, his wife asked him if he was going to bed.

He said he'd be up in a few minutes. But when his wife looked over at the clock and saw it was 3 a.m. and he was still not in bed, she thought, "This is ridiculous!" She went down to get him and saw him slumped over his computer. When she went over to wake him up, he was dead of a massive heart attack.

At his funeral, everyone talked about what an "innovator" he was, a "leader in industry," and a "great husband and father." But, according to Luke 12:20, God had only one thing to say about him, "You fool!" The moral being that your spiritual life, family life and health are the priority. Ignore them, and you may pay the ultimate price, no matter what the millennia.

So clearly, if you're a guy, the odds are stacked against you. You've heard of "dog years," men have "man years." Yet, the studies show the problem is actually less of a heart problem and more of a brain problem.

If you're a man and you're going to do absolutely nothing about your health, then, according to the study, your wife could be well justified in leaving you for a 20-year-old soon after you reach your 50th birthday. But, by getting on a consistent, healthy lifestyle routine and setting your priorities in the right order, you can live a long healthy life, despite your gender and a lack of interest in shopping.

Dr. Ben Lerner, along with Dr. Greg Loman, owns Teach The World About Chiropractic, a Chiropractic training company. They have helped build the largest spinal correction clinics in the history of Chiropractic.