Will The Human Life Span Increase Within Your Lifetime? More Men Than Women Believe It Will, Survey Finds

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.