Will the human life span increase within your lifetime? More men than women believe it will, survey finds
Women, on average, live longer lives than men—yet a new research survey finds men are more confident in their chances of living a long life.
The insights, exclusively obtained by Fortune from strategy consultant Thursday Strategy, help illustrate Americans’ current attitudes about aging at a time when the quest for longer life span and health span is dominating the current wellness dialogue.
The research suggests, though, that the longevity boom may be resonating more with men, elevating their sense of control over aging more than it does for women.
The majority of men—58%—believe they will have control over what their later years will look like, including when they are older than 80, according to the survey of over 1,000 U.S. adults. In comparison, 48% of women believe the same sentiment.
And despite American women living an average of five years longer than men, slightly more men (38%) than women (33%) believe they will live to be 100.
The survey also found that 64% of men believe the average life span will increase in their lifetime, compared to 50% of women. That gap is even more pronounced within younger generations: Compared to 40% of Gen Z women (born 1997–2012) and 43% of millennial women (born 1981–1996), 63% of men in each group believe their life spans will increase in their lifetime.
While “studies have documented a male ‘confidence bias’ across categories in the past,” Thursday Strategy partner Kristen Nozell Bornstein tells Fortune, the survey’s results are still surprising.
“To see a 20-plus-point difference in the belief that average life span will increase in the coming decades between young men and women is pretty striking,” says Bornstein. “Intentional longevity pursuits have clearly been male-dominant.”
Men and the longevity boom
While once seen as a market targeting women, the economy of self-care and anti-aging has been attracting men with a modern goal: to crack the code of longevity. The phenomenon has some calling these biohacking men “almond dads,” or “Huberman husbands,” a reference to those who swear by the two-hour podcasts of professor turned public figure Dr. Andrew Huberman, hacking everything from sleep to dopamine. They might also follow the advice of (or buy pricey nutrition products from) wealthy tech entrepreneur Bryan Johnson, who spends millions in an aim to reverse his age.
According to Thursday Strategy’s data, nearly one in five men turns to health- and wellness-focused podcasts—about one and a half more than women. And men are also more likely than women to be interested in “longevity supplements,” perhaps from the slew of ads on podcasts like Huberman’s.
The gender discrepancies may not come as such a surprise, though, considering that medical research still underrepresents women, propelling a long-standing distrust in systems of care and, therefore, confidence in information on aging. Women are also most likely to be caregivers and witness the realistic struggles of aging most personally.
“This exposure could imprint a more realistic picture of aging challenges,” Bornstein posits.
However, it’s worth noting that while men have been the popular faces of the longevity movement and have created an audience of loyal followers, Fortune previously reported that women have been leading the charge toward healthy aging on a more silent frontier and for different reasons—to extend their health span, for example, or autonomy with caregiving, and because of their historic distrust in health systems. And the survey supports this assertion, despite certain gender discrepancies, as both men and women reported thinking about their final decades and discussing aging more frequently in their social circles.
At the same time, men’s greater sense of agency in aging is an area worth further research—especially because it may exacerbate existing gender inequities even as positive attitudes on aging increase people’s chances of living longer, healthier lives.
“There’s a clear difference in how men and women view the efficacy of government and public health officials on the topic of health care,” Bornstein says, "and women’s lower confidence in these institutions could impact confidence levels on an individual level.”
For more on the longevity boom:
The single most important longevity hack to David Beckham’s routine that keeps him healthy and energetic at 49
5 ways to reduce your dementia risk as study estimates U.S. cases could double by 2060
Jimmy Carter was the first president to live to 100. Here are his 3 science-backed strategies for longevity
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
