Researches reported in The Archives of Internal Medicine and The New York Times suggest that men can survive to “extreme old age” — which, for the sake of argument, is considered 90 — if they don’t smoke, manage their weight, control blood pressure, get exercise and avoid diabetes.

My first reaction was that this is a lot like finding that men won’t die early if they avoid things that can kill them, and that’s not exactly news or science. I mean, we can all live beyond 90 if we live healthy lives and don’t get hit by a streetcar, right?

But then I noticed what was missing from that list.

Marriage.

According to all kinds of research, married men live longer, healthier lives. Divorced, widowed and never-married men were all likely to die before their married friends. Researchers from one of these studies, conducted at the University of California, Los Angeles and published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health last year, could not say whether the men were single because of their disgusting health habits or whether single guys are too busy doing what they darn well pleased to take care of their health.

But other researchers have speculated that women are the gatekeepers of the health care system, and that when you marry one, she will make sure you see a doctor regularly.

She will probably also nag you into exercising, losing weight, taking your blood pressure medicine, and she will make you quit smoking. There is some speculation that the stress of divorce or the death of a spouse or a simple breakup can take a toll on a man’s health, explaining the poor prospects for single or widowed guys.

... contd.