Why are men obsessed with breasts?

Why are men obsessed with breasts? Authors of a book analyse the emotional, biological and cultural reasons behind and conclude that it is due to a hormone released during nursing.

Larry Young and Brian Alexander, authors of The chemistry between us: love, sex, and the science of attraction, believe it is due to a hormone released during nursing.

The hormone helps to forge the powerful bond between mother and baby, and also creates a drive for a strong nurturing bond between lovers, the Daily Mail reported on Wednesday.

"Men are the only male mammals fascinated by breasts in a sexual context," said Young.

"And women are the only female mammals whose breasts become enlarged at puberty, independent of pregnancy.

"We are also the only species in which males caress, massage and even orally stimulate the female breasts during foreplay and sex," he said.

The authors cite the success of Hooters, "men's" magazines like Playboy, and about "100,000 years of art" as obvious proof that men are "extremely" drawn to breasts.

However, the attraction is nature, not nurture, they say.

"Boys don't learn on the playground that breasts are something that they should be interested in. It's biological and deeply engrained in our brain," they wrote.