Scientists Claim: Presence of Beautiful Women Bad For Health

Research undertaken at the University of Valencia has seen scientists arrive at a startling conclusion: beautiful women are bad for men’s health.

The issue is to do with a hormone, namely cortisol, which is produced by the body under stressful conditions. One of those conditions, it seems, is being in the private company of an attractive member of the opposite sex. The researchers noted that being alone with an attractive female caused a dramatic rise in cortisol level; the condition was said to be exacerbated if the men perceived the woman to be “out of their league”.

The study put 84 nerds males in a room with a Sudoku puzzle and either a male or female stranger. They were then asked to solve the puzzle.

Researchers found that when in the presence of another man, the subjects’ stress levels did not rise. On the other hand, when the woman was present, there was a significant increase in their levels of cortisol.

The researchers hypothesized:

In this study we considered that for most men the presence of an attractive woman may induce the perception that there is an opportunity for courtship.

While some men might avoid attractive women since they think they are ‘out of their league’, the majority would respond with apprehension and a concurrent hormonal response.

This study showed that male cortisol levels increased after exposure to a five-minute short social contact with a young, attractive woman.

So what can increased levels of cortisol cause? Studies have linked cortisol to most of the usual suspects: heart disease, diabetes and a potential deal breaker to ensure that our sudoku-solving test subjects remain eternally frustrated – impotence. [Metro]