by Roger Highfield in London
It used to be thought that men died sooner than women because of fast living, violence and reckless behaviour. Now scientists say this is not the whole story. Studies lead them to conclude that men are weaker.

They are debilitated by the male sex hormone testosterone and, to make matters worse, men, who tend to be larger than women, are encumbered by their size.

In humans and other mammals, the mortality rate in males is higher than in females from puberty onwards. In the journal ‘Science’, Sarah Moore and Dr Ken Wilson, of Stirling University, Scotland, report that one reason is that men are more susceptible to infections - from bacteria and viruses to fleas, worms and mites. See picture above.- (c) The Telegraph Group London 2002