Stress Alters Female Attractiveness Makes Men Prefer Heftier Women According To Study

To test the effects of stress on men's notions of the most attractive form of female body, Tovee and co-author Viren Swami of the University of Westminster in London recruited 81 heterosexual men for their study. The men were all Caucasian, aged 18 to 42, with a body mass index ranging between about 17 and 31. Forty-one of the subjects were subjected to a number of back-to-back stress-inducing tasks, including a mock job interview in front of a four-person panel that was being recorded and videotaped. The other 40 participants - the control group - were taken to a room where they sat quietly. Both groups were then shown photographs of a variety of female body types, ranging from emaciated through obese, with the faces removed. The stressed group gave significantly higher attractiveness ratings to normal weight and overweight figures than did the non-stressed group, said Tovee. Men in the stressed group also indicated attraction to a broader range of sizes among the figures, compared with those in the non-stressed group. Turning to the distaff side, he said women's ideas of what makes a man attractive are somewhat more complex and harder to study. Where males focus on overall body mass, attractiveness for females includes such factors as personality and physique. "When you look at what women look for in men's physical appearance, body mass is quite important, but the big thing is body shape - they're looking for the V-shape, with wide shoulders and the narrower waist. read more