Map reading sparks battle of the sexes

The battle of the sexes has continued for generations but a new study has revealed that while men are good at reading maps, it is women who are less likely to get lost.

The study looked at a group of men and women from a Mexican village who were sent to gather mushrooms fitted with satellite positioning systems and heart rate monitors.

Although men and women returned with roughly the same amount of mushrooms, the women had expended far less energy because they knew where they were going.

The men had climbed higher, travelled further and used 70 per cent more energy than the women who were more likely to recall their routes by using landmarks and retraced paths.

The results of the study will be published in the scientific journal Evolution and Human Behaviour later this year.

Video journalist Cathy Spencer went out and about to gather opinions.