Being a Cougar Can Be Hazardous to Your Health

The going notion is that being with a younger man helps keep you youthful and energetic, right? Not so, according to a new German study. In news that might make self-described cougar Vivica A. Fox a little uneasy this morning, researchers from the Max Planck Institute found that being with a younger man increases your chances of an early death by up to 20 percent... Here's what you had to say: Tracy cmmented: "I won't let this study effect my relationship with my much younger 28-year-old male companion. We enjoy each other's company and society has nothing to do with our relationship." Amber Janel wrote: "Fantasizing about Denzel, then calling out his name at an inopportune time is hazardous for your health. You gotta die from something!"

ESSENCE.COM May, 13, 2010

The going notion is that being with a younger man helps keep you youthful and energetic, right? Not so, according to a new German study. In news that might make self-described cougar Vivica A. Fox a little uneasy this morning, researchers from the Max Planck Institute found that being with a younger man increases your chances of an early death by up to 20 percent. The reason? Societal pressures not only affect the relationship, but the woman’s health as well. The study, conducted on two million Danish couples, found that women in relationships with men seven to nine years younger had “a less joyful and more stressful life, reduced health, and finally, increased mortality,” said researcher Sven Drefahl. And yet men who marry younger women enjoy a more promising future. Men who are with women seven to nine years younger lowered their mortality risk by 11 percent.