"Researchers have challenged the idea that women prefer men who are older than them after finding precisely the opposite in thousands of women who went on blind dates.
Quizzed after their brief encounters, both men and women tended to rate younger dates as more desirable future partners, suggesting men do not have a monopoly on putting a premium on youth.
Psychologists on the study said the results were surprising because academics often presume the global trend for older men in married and cohabiting couples mirrors the preferences of both partners.
The researchers analysed questionnaires completed by more than 6,000 blind daters who used a matchmaking service to fix them up with a potential long-term partner. Overall, men and women were equally more attracted to younger dates, at least after the first meeting, the authors report in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences."