The Perfect Match

To have the most children, men should find a partner six years younger and women a mate four years older, Austrian researchers say.

It is no surprise to hear that men pick younger women to bolster their reproductive fitness and that women choose older partners for security, which the scientists say would hold evolutionary advantages.

But the study is the first to quantify the age difference that results in the most children, says research leader Dr Martin Fieder, an anthropologist from the University of Vienna.

Age difference key to having most kids - 29/08/2007