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Men Prefer 'Normal' Weight Women

Pictures of faces give info about subjects' health, too

By Mary Papenfuss,  Newser Staff

Posted Oct 29, 2009 11:08 AM CDT
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(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.”

A young woman weighs herself.
A young woman weighs herself.   (Shutterstock)
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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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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 14 comments
stw111
Apr 6, 2010 5:37 PM CDT
Yes, because all women do anything and everything in their lives solely to please men.
youngblood
Nov 2, 2009 10:21 AM 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!
Jes
Oct 30, 2009 6:16 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."

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

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