THERE is a new theory on why men go bald and it all has to do with gravity.

Dr Emin Tuncay Ustuner, a plastic surgeon in Ankara, Turkey, says the answer to male pattern baldness is not hormones or bad genes but the weight of the scalp on hair follicles.

He argues that young men have more fat tissue on their scalps which keeps the hair follicles well hydrated.

But, Dr Ustuner says, that fat disappears as men age and hence the reason why hair falls out.

Declining levels of testosterone contribute to that scalp fat decreases.

Dr Ustuner acknowledges that his "gravity theory" for hair loss has met with "notable skepticism and resistance."

He says, "Simplifying a very complicated problem is probably the only disadvantage of the theory."

He believes that individual hair loss patterns are affected by differences in the shape of the head, reflecting variations in scalp pressure.

Dr Ustuner believes men's ears help resist the effects of gravity on the scalp, lessening hair loss on the sides of the head.

The research is published in the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.