Are chess players more likely to be losing their hair and balding?

When I play in chess tournaments, I notice that a lot of the male chess players are balding.  It seems like the rate of hair loss amongst chess players is higher than among the general populace.

Any thoughts?

I've read a lot about hair loss and male pattern baldness and I've never heard any connection of hair loss to occupation. Whether someone is an physical athlete or if the man spends a lot of time on "mental" activities there is not much connection. The fact you may see more balding men among chess players could be (and it is just a guess) due to the fact that men who play chess are often mostly from ethnic groups among whom earlier hair loss is common. Jewish men, Russians and Ukrainians, and people from Caucausus region are known to have receding hairlines earlier than people of other ethnic groups. Because of that they're also less likely to be concerned with their balding head and they either don't comb over and they're likely to get short haircuts. This may make it appear as if chess as an activity is causing hair loss.

I can imagine temporary hair loss happening as a result of chess only if a man has a habit of running their fingers through their hair constantly when thinking over the board. But it cannot be permanent if they stop doing it.

I wonder whether anyone agrees with my theory regarding this.

Did fryer tuck play? I copped his lousy solar panel.

Looking at the elite players, the answer is NO.

Well if you exclude the younger elite players, not so clear cut.  Anand has toupee, Kasparov, Topalov and Gelfand balding.  Anyway, I am talking about real world regular chess players.  

Bottom line - The bigger the brain, the more it tends to push out hair follicles and thus impedes hair growth. Talking from own experience ...