I've never bought in to this statistic, for one reason. Often people who do not marry have a *reason* for not marrying. This implies that they are abnormal in some way. Now, while this abnormality may be independent of health, in many cases it is tied to health.
To prove this theory, what is the health and life expectancy of men who were married, but became divorced or widowers soon after? They would be as a rule "fit" enough to get married, which also implies a normal level of health.
I suspect that they live on average just as long as married men.
Yeah, we are abnormal.
We have abnormal amounts of freedom and autonomy. We have VERY abnormal spontaneity, and abnormally low stress. We have abnormal impulse control, in that we don't use it at all unless we choose to.
More and more, those *reasons* for not marrying seem more reasonable all the time. No one will ever hear about Pukin Dog shooting a judge, running from cops, dodging child support, or any of the other lovely things that CAN come from married life.
Contracting with the state for the temporary cohabitation with another; THAT is abnormal to me. If a man cant reserve the right to kick someone else to the curb for any reason he so chooses, then we have lost our way.
I think of women like I do my favorite Mexican food place: Quatro Milpas, when its good, its insanely good and you think you can eat it forever. But, at some point, it turns on you, and you have to take a break or live in a rare kind of pain until it, uh, passes.
I believe that the numbers show otherwise. Many widowers die within a short period of time after a spouse goes. Elderly men seem to do particularly badly after a beloved wife dies; perhaps it's partly because after the missus goes, there's nobody to cook for them, watch their medication, take them to the doctor, call 911, etc. I'll bet that kind of caretaking is a substantial part of the reason married men live longer.
See #57 & #76.