Men spend £6bn to stay young

Men in their thirties splash out more than £6 billion a year trying to hold on to their fading youth, according to a survey published today.

Like Hugh Grant's character in hit film About a Boy, 30-something men are spending an average £1,000 each on youth-culture gadgets, trendy clothes and "stay-young" creams. Half confessed to buying hair and skin products in the last year as they battle to retain their youthful looks.

In what seems to be a desperate bid to tap into youth culture, 14 per cent of 30-year-old males were tempted to buy "boys' toys" like Subbuteo and Scalextric. The same amount were thinking of getting turntable decks and trying their hand at being a DJ.

And 13 per cent said they had considered trying out extreme sports such as snowboarding and skateboarding.

More than 80 per cent of 30-somethings confessed to buying the latest trainers, while two thirds had been clubbing and nearly half had a computer games console. Some 40 per cent were members at a gym.

According to the research by Barclaycard, which quizzed 1,000 men in their thirties, they splash out £6.2 billion a year trying to halt impending middle-age. Nearly 40 per cent spent between £50 and £200 a month on gadgets, clothes and grooming. Seven per cent spent as much as £500 a month.

Barclaycard spokesman Ian Barber said: "Maybe with more men finding themselves single in their thirties, they are trying hard to appear younger."