Having a wife who is the main breadwinner is apparently bad for a husband’s health, according a study by sociologists.
The research, from Rutgers University in the US, found being a kept man while the wife is the primary earner increases the husband’s chances of heart disease, strokes and type two diabetes.
The study found that men suffer both psychologically and physically if they earn less than their wives.
Nearly 2,000 couples took part in the study, which monitored changes in earnings and status. Men who were financially overtaken by their wives had much higher rates of stress-related illness as well as heart problems and diabetes.
In a report on the findings researchers said: 'Wives increasingly out-earn their husbands and this may undermine men's well-being.
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'We found that violating cultural expectations, such as the masculinity ideal of male breadwinning, is associated with older men's poorer health.'
Men apparently suffer irrespective of social class: the harmful effects on husbands occurred both in high and low income households.
The findings were published in the Journal of Ageing and Health.