Beijing, Dec 3 (IANS): So, what are the Chinese afraid of? While men fear having no money, women worry about getting old, says an online poll.

Baidu Zhidao website has published a list of the "Things that the Chinese people are most afraid of", sparking heated debate, reported People's Daily.

Statistics show that nearly 2.9 million answers given by male registered users are about the fear of having no money, while over 2.7 million answers by women focus on worries about getting old.

The causes of worry for men also include frustration in their careers. They are afraid of losing, or being compared with others. Women generally worry about emotional problems. They are afraid of their man having an affair and seem to lack a sense of security.

When it comes to physical appearances, men are most afraid of becoming bald, having a beer belly and impotency. Women are afraid of their face becoming wrinkled, getting sagging breasts and a thicker waist, the media report said.

Many Internet users agreed with the conclusion that men fear having no money while women hate getting old.

However, there were others who disagreed.

"Material wealth is not the only criterion to measure whether a man is successful or not and getting old also does not mean the loss of charm. Although most of the common people measure themselves with secular standard, it does not mean that they are vulgar and it also stands for their desire of making progress from another perspective," an unidentified person was quoted as saying.

The statistics also reveal that that the number of men fearing being alone is eight percent higher than women.

Interestingly, 70 percent of women are afraid of getting married as compared to only 30 percent for men.

Wang Shaolei, a professor from School of Journalism and Communication, Nanjing Normal University, said theoretically speaking, it is feasible to figure out "what are most Chinese people afraid of" with the questions about "fear" to netizens as the survey samples. But only if the analysis on the samples meets the basic requirements of a social survey could the conclusion provide certain reference value.