Friday, December 31, 2010

That figure



Women with hourglass figures and perfect waists are most attractive, study finds
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A perfect waist is what men consider the most attractive feature in women, say scientists who calculated the ratio for the ideal figure in a female body.
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Researchers found a woman having an “hourglass” shaped figure was more important for a man than her breast size or facial features.
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They also discovered that men take a split second to decide if a member of the opposite sex is attractive.
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Men prefer average sized women over fashion models and Playboy centrefolds, claim scientists
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Children as young as 10 feel pressure to have a 'perfect' body
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Kate Craig-Wood: 'I'm lucky, many men would never pass for a woman'
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British women want curves like Nigella Lawson, survey finds
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Men who look good on the dance floor make the fittest mates, claim scientists
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A new study found that a man was more attracted to a woman based on the size of her waist compared with her hips.
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They calculated that a “waist-to-hip ratio” of 0.7, or a waist measuring 70 per cent of the hip circumference, was the “perfect” size.
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Women with “hourglass” figures such as Marilyn Monroe, Jessica Alba, the Hollywood actress and Alessandra Ambrosio, the Victoria's Secret model, were found to posses the "perfect” body.
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Scientists concluded that such a small ratio was considered good for a woman’s health and resulted in high fertility.
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Dr Barnaby Dixson, a New Zealand anthropologist, studied what different sexes found attractive throughout history.
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In his study, a group of volunteers were shown various pictures of a woman, where her hips, bust, and waist were digitally altered.
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He then asked them to rate the image for attractiveness and while they studied the photos used infra-red cameras to track their eyes.
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Despite most men being drawn initially to the woman's cleavage, it was her hips and waist that were in fact what they found most attractive.
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Men rated images with an hourglass shape and a slim waist … as most attractive, irrespective of breast size, said Dr Dixson, from Victoria University of Wellington.
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Reporting in the Archives of Sexual Behaviour, he also concluded that the same formula for the “perfect body” on a woman was a waist-to-hip ratio of 0.7.
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It is likely that perfect 0.7 ratio sends a biological signal to men that that woman is most fertile and most likely to produce a healthy offspring, no matter what size that woman is, he said.
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It is all about the distribution of fat which is directly linked to fertility.
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Dr Dixson also studied that women found most attractive and concluded that women preferred a leaner, less muscle-bound physique in males, perhaps giving hope to men that shun the gym.
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On a biological level, women are more likely to pick a leaner, even slightly more effeminate man as they equate those physical traits with being more caring and gentle and therefore a better prospect as a partner
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Humans simply do not mate randomly.
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Andrew Hough - Telegraph

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