Comments on: Why Do Women Experience Menopause?

By: SWFLguy

SWFLguy — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:06:21 +0000

Speaking as a Grandfather–we stop having kids at a certain age so that we don’t go insane having to take care of them all our lives !

By: Johnny Cat

Johnny Cat — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 05:32:47 +0000

I gotta agree with Barry, and the same can be said for men who suddenly, in this era, need “male enhancements” in order to keep having sex way beyond the point their body says it’s over. It’s the 40 year cycle, and naturally, that’s all we’re programmed to perform in.

The rest is just ice cream and dreams of Darth Vader costumes for Halloween.

By: Barry

Barry — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 04:14:15 +0000

I don’t think that’s an adequate explanation of menopause. Consider the natural lifespan of a human — that is, how old humans get without the benefit of modern medicine and nutrition. It’s about 40 years. Most women, therefore, wouldn’t live much longer beyond their reproductive years, making menopause much more likely to be some weird biological aberration rather than a phenomenon with a clear genetic purpose.

Biologically speaking, just about any event that happens after procreation can’t be explained by evolution. The genes have already been passed on. There’s no genetic way to “filter out” that event if it results in, say, an increased mortality rate. Because of the limited lifespan, women tended not to be menopausal grandmothers. I find it doubtful that they contributed significantly to the success of their offspring to procreate.

By: Alex the parrot

Alex the parrot — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:54:20 +0000

A much simpler explaination would be because younger women produce healthier babies.
I think this account is a better explaination as to why women live for so long after their reprodictive cycles have ceased, as most animals don’t outlive their ability to produce offspring for long.

By: Bonnie L.

Bonnie L. — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:58:26 +0000

I always thought that it is because as women age, their eggs start developing chromosomal defects at a faster rate. When you are under the age of 30, your chances of have a baby with Down Syndrome are 1 in 1,000, at 35 those chances are 1 in 400 and for every year after that, your chances get exponentially larger. (http://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/pubs/downsyndrome.cfm#TheOccurr ence)

By: christine

christine — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:18:48 +0000

I think this is a pretty lame “scientific” study. Doesn’t really explain anything at all.