Polygamous men live longer

It seems a man’s survival is based on his ability and opportunity to procreate!  Study has found that polygamous men (with more than one wife) lived on average 12% longer than men from monogamous cultures.  The study discounted for socio-economic factors etc.  They studied men over 60 from 140 countries.

Women’s longevity is explained by “Gandmother effect” – the doting on the grand-kids increases their age as this emotional bonding has a good effect on age.  For men, the “Grandfather effect” does not work.  Rather it is the ability to utilize their virility and take it well into the grey years.  While women are limited due to the menopause, men can procreate.

If female survival is the main explanation for male longevity, then monogamous and polygamous men would live for about the same length of time. Instead, it seems that fathering more kids with more wives leads to increased male longevity. Men, then, live long because they’re fertile well into their grey years.

No wonder so many older cultures allowed polygamy – they must have figured it out 🙂 and since most societies were made for men anyways, they structured it according to their needs – women were just tools anyways!  Sad, but true.  I wonder when the tables are turned on men, what will happen? 🙂