Women in bikinis can affect men's wallet

LEUVEN, Belgium, June 2 (UPI) -- Men who watched sexy videos or handled lingerie had a greater urgency to consume anything immediately rewarding, researchers in Belgium said.

Bram Van den Bergh, Siegfried DeWitte and Luk Warlop of Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium found that the desire for immediate rewards increased in men who touched bras, looked at pictures of beautiful women or watched video clips of young women in bikinis running through a park.

"After they touched a bra, men are more likely to be content with a smaller immediate monetary reward," Bram Van den Bergh said in a statement. "Prior exposure to sexy stimuli may influence the choice between chocolate cake or fruit for dessert."

The study, published in the Journal of Consumer Research, found the activation of sexual desire appears to spill over into other brain systems involved in reward-seeking behaviors, even the cognitive desire for money.

The study demonstrates that bikinis cause a shift in time preference: Men live in the here and now when they glance at pictures featuring women in lingerie -- and will choose the immediately available rewards and seek immediate gratification after sex cue exposure.

Men may do well to be aware of bikinis' effects on their bank accounts and waistlines, the researchers said.