Sorry chaps, being a kept man is bad for your health

FOR modern men sick of the daily grind, it may seem like the perfect solution.

But stepping back from work for your wife to become the breadwinner may not be quite as relaxing as it sounds – research shows being a kept man may in fact raise the risk of health problems.

Men whose partners are the main earner are thought to suffer stress-related physical conditions because their masculinity is damaged. They may also seek to reassert their manliness through smoking, drinking and eating unhealthily.

US sociologists from Rutgers University studied almost 1,100 married couples over three decades, finding health problems in men whose wives became the main earners. Professor Cary Cooper, of Manchester Business School, said that most men still saw their role as the provider.

He said: ‘When they no longer play that role, their health suffers psychologically and that in turns damages their physical health. And it’s much worse if they have been made redundant. It will take generations before this mindset really changes.’

The research, published in the Journal of Ageing and Heath, found that those who lost their breadwinner status – whether early or late in life – were more likely to suffer stress-induced stomach ulcers, heart problems and chronic lung disease.

Co-author Deborah Carr said: ‘Men who do not uphold the male breadwinner role may feel like a professional failure, or may feel that they are failing their families by not providing for them economically.’