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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009

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Climate Skeptics:
Hacked Emails
Prove We're Right

Scientist talks about adding a 'trick' to graph

Nov 21, 09 10:37 AM CST
College Threatens to Fail Students for Obesity

Twenty-five seniors must prove they've lost weight to graduate

Nov 21, 09 11:25 AM CST
Fla. Man to Smoke
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Hadron Collider
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After 14 months of repairs, proton beams circulate

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Peru Gang Accused
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Cosmetics firms said to pay $60K/gallon; experts skeptical

Nov 19, 09 10:00 PM CST
The Tuna on Your Plate May Be Endangered

Nov 20, 09 4:27 PM CST
40% Bare Is
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But too much flesh smacks of infidelity

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This Bud's for You:
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the Grade

Marijuana mist, croissants on tap in 1st legal establishment

Nov 20, 09 4:27 AM CST
h1n1 outbreak

Swine Flu Mutation Worries Norway Scientists

CDC official says it's no cause for alarm

Nov 20, 09 1:37 PM CST
PALEONTOLOGISTS SAY

100M Years Ago, Africa
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3 new species unearthed from Sahara include DogCroc

Nov 20, 09 1:12 PM CST
Calif. Buffalo Go on
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State thins Santa Catalina Island herd humanely

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Nov 18, 09 9:30 PM CST
h1n1 outbreak

Flu Pandemic Slacks Off, But 'It's Not Over'

Tamiflu-resistant cluster crops up in NC; 3 of 4 patients dead

Nov 20, 09 4:25 PM CST

|NEXT STORY »

EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

Men Prefer 'Normal' Weight Women

Pictures of faces give info about subjects' health, too

By Mary Papenfuss| Posted Oct 29, 09 11:08 AM CDT|

(Newser) – Celebrity culture and body image issues aside, women of “normal” weight are by far the most attractive to the opposite sex. College-age men asked to rate headshots of their counterparts judged women in the normal weight range more attractive. “This sends a strong message to all the girls out there who believe you have to be underweight to be attractive,” a researcher tells the BBC.

The normal-weight women were also deemed healthier—which they were, according to quick physical exams administered before the test. “The people making judgments in our study were all between the ages of 18 and 26 and they did not rate underweight girls most attractive,” the researcher continues. “They preferred normal weight girls.” The researchers stress that being overweight is as unhealthy as underweight, and that it shows. “Other people can spot this in their face.”

[Images (1)]

[Quotes (1)]

A young woman weighs herself. (Shutterstock)

View larger images >>

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Scientists have been trying to answer this question for decades, and have made many breakthroughs in our understanding of health and attractiveness, but until now they have tended to overlook the influence of weight. - Vinet Coetzee, St. Andrews University

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18 comments

VIEWING:

ezrider
Oct 29, 09 11:10 AM CDT

another rerun Reply

| 0 minutes ago

IggyJack
Oct 29, 09 11:11 AM CDT

Let this be a lesson to everyone Reply

| 0 minutes ago

rockermocking
Oct 29, 09 11:14 AM CDT

i hate studies like this though because it is saying that the only reason women are anorexic/bulimic is for a guy. ask any girl with an eating disorder out there and she'll tell you she does it for herself. and studies like this can't help them break the vicious eating disorder cycle no matter how many times they are repeated. Reply

+11

IN RESPONSE:

Thinker
Oct 29, 09 1:12 PM CDT

Good point. Many anorexic teenage girls say that they do it to maintain control over something in their lives. Many have overbearing parents, a lot of pressure from school and jobs, and they feel they are powerless. Controlling one's body is the ultimate power trip for them.

| 0 minutes ago

Alan_Harrington
Oct 29, 09 11:20 AM CDT

"asked to rate headshots..." how is this a valid claim when all the guys could see was their head. they should view only body shots and see what the result is. this claim is completely flawed Reply

IN RESPONSE:

Unaffiliated
Oct 29, 09 11:34 AM CDT

Perhaps they were intentionally hiding the rest of the body so the attractiveness rating was not influenced by overall body shape.

IN RESPONSE:

Alan_Harrington
Oct 29, 09 11:36 AM CDT

so then why would they say "Men Prefer 'Normal' Weight Women" when weight had nothing to do with the study?

-1

IN RESPONSE:

Unaffiliated
Oct 29, 09 12:51 PM CDT

It has to do with the nature of how a scientific experiment involving something so subjective as attractiveness is carried out. You can't tell the participants the criteria you're studying. That will influence the results.

IN RESPONSE:

Alan_Harrington
Oct 29, 09 3:49 PM CDT

but they did not give theparticipants ample information in order to come to the conclusion that men prefer average sized women. i've seen big heads on small bodies and tiny heads on large bodies. there is no creditbility in the claim

-2

IN RESPONSE:

Jes
Oct 30, 09 1:16 AM CDT

Alan, the question they gave the subjects wasn't "Which body type do you prefer?' it was "Which girl is more attractive?" They would then look at the information and see if there were trends. The trend was that women of "normal" weight trended as the ones most likely to be called attractive. It's the same principle behind giving people pills in a study and not saying "Here, this one's just sugar. Tell me how ya feel."

IN RESPONSE:

youngblood
Nov 2, 09 4:21 PM CST

I was wondering that also Alan, how do u judge a person's weight by their headshot? Oh I get it now, they also weighed the headshot before judging. Dahhh... I'm so dumbit!

| 0 minutes ago

surlyotter
Oct 29, 09 11:22 AM CDT

You can usually estimate someone's body weight by only looking at their head... Reply

IN RESPONSE:

Alan_Harrington
Oct 29, 09 11:35 AM CDT

yeah, but that wasnt the study. they were asked to rate attractiveness, not judge weight. if they could see the entire body i would bet you would get different results

IN RESPONSE:

my-name-here
Oct 29, 09 12:57 PM CDT

@Alan, I think your right. I think they should specify that they were measuring "facial attractiveness" This study assumes overall attractiveness is judged by men to be based solely on a woman's face. Which is false. I think the results would actually be rather similar, though, had they just shown body shots. I think most men prefer women with "normal"(whatever that is...) bodies. But this sort of study just discounts too many things that make up the big picture. How does one measure personality compatibility? What about body/face symmetry? How about a strong preference for a certain eye color? Yeah, too many missing variables to account for in trying to find a solid answer. It's just not that simple.

| 0 minutes ago

trdulworth
Oct 29, 09 11:48 AM CDT

I personally prefer the starving Ethiopian look Reply

| 0 minutes ago

alkaseltzersammich
Oct 29, 09 1:38 PM CDT

"Normal sized" chicks typically have bigger chest hams and nicer asses so of course we find them more attractive. Skinny chicks that look like starved 15 year old boys aren't what we go for. Reply

| 0 minutes ago

JoeQ
Oct 29, 09 9:34 PM CDT

Nothing wrong with a little junk in the trunk. Reply

| 0 minutes ago

BoZo
Oct 30, 09 9:16 AM CDT

Once again, science points out the obvious. Reply

| 0 minutes ago

View all 18 comments »

women's health • fat • weight • overweight • scientific study • underweight • thin • attractive

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Men Prefer 'Normal' Weight Women