According to new research, scientists claim to have dispelled the man flu myth by saying that men are more susceptible to disease because they invest their lives with more of a spirit of adventure at the expense of their immune systems, the UK's Daily Telegraph reported.

Researchers at the University of Cambridge believe that male evolutionary ‘live fast, die young' approach means they haven't built up their immune systems like women have, making them more likely to catch diseases and harbour them for longer.

‘In many cases, males tend to be more prone to get infected or less able to clear infection,' researcher Dr Olivier Restif said. ‘Proposed mechanisms include interference between male hormones and immunity, as well as risk-taking behaviour.'

One of the key explanations presented for this is that men continue to support their reproductive systems even when they are ill, and at the expense of getting better, which is due to a competitive nature they have evolved over time.

‘Under this scenario, the model predicts that overall, females should try to clear infection rapidly, regardless of the relative risk of catching infection,' Dr Restif says. ‘In contrast, males are selected to decrease their immune defences and remain sexually active during infection if their exposure to infection is high. On the other hand, even if males have a strong immune system that clears infection, they will become reinfected rapidly, so the effective benefit of immunity is low.'

So is man flu a myth and men just love to complain? Perhaps the truth is stranger than the fiction.

ACSM #48