Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

The Body Beautiful pp 65–87Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

An Evolutionary Perspective on Male Preferences for Female Body Shape

  • Chapter

Abstract

Cross-culturally, humans make systematic use of physical attractiveness to discriminate among members of the opposite sex, and physical cues to youth, health, and fertility may be particularly important to men (Buss, 1989). Nevertheless, there is controversy over whether attraction preferences are adaptive, particularly in novel environments, and whether they are universal or flexible depending on cultural circumstances (Singh & Luis, 1995). To date, a good deal of research into somatic (i.e., body) attractiveness has focused on two particular characteristics: waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and the body mass index (BMI). WHR is calculated as the circumference of the waist divided by circumference of the hips, and provides an index of a woman’s ‘curvaceousness.’ BMI is calculated as an individual’s weight (kilogrammes) divided by height (metres) squared, and provides an estimate of body fatness.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Anderson, J. L., Crawford, C. B., Nadeau, J., & Lindberg, T. (1992). Was the Duchess of Windsor right? A cross-cultural review of the socioecology of ideals of female body shape. Ethology and Sociobiology, 13, 197–227.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baker, J. L., Michaelsen, K. F., Rasmussen, K. M., & Sorensen, T. I. (2004). Maternal prepregnant body mass index, duration of breastfeeding, and timing of complementary food introduction are associated with infant weight gain. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 80, 1579–1588.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barber, N. (1995). The evolutionary psychology of physical attractiveness: Sexual selection and human morphology. Ethology and Sociobiology, 16, 395–424.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benyshek, D. C., & Watson, J. T. (2006). Exploring the thrifty genotype’s food shortage assumptions: A cross-cultural comparison of ethnographic accounts of food security among foraging and agricultural societies. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 131, 120–126.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bhargava, A. (2000). Modelling the effects of maternal nutritional status and socioeconomic variables on the anthropometric and psychological indicators of Kenyan infants from age 0–6 months. American Journal ofPhysical Anthropology, 111, 89–104.

    Google Scholar 

  • Björntorp, P. (1988). The associations between obesity, adipose tissue distribution and disease. Acta Medica Scandinavica, 723 (Suppl.), 121–134.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brewis, A. A., & McGarvey, S. T. (2000). Body image, body size, and Samoan ecological and individual modernization. Ecology of Food and Nutrition, 39, 105–120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buckingham, G., DeBruine, L. M., Little, A. C., Welling, L. L. M., Conway, C. A., Tiddeman, B. P., et al. (2006). Visual adaptation to masculine and feminine faces influences generalized preferences and perceptions of trustworthiness. Evolution and Human behavior, 27, 381–389.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buss, D. M. (1989). Sex differences in human mate preferences: Evolutionary hypotheses testing in 37 cultures. Behavioural and Brain Sciences, 12, 1–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cashdan, E. (2003). Hormones and competitive aggression in women. Aggressive behavior, 29, 107–115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cordain, L., Miller, J., & Mann, M. (1999). Scant evidence of periodic starvation among hunter-gatherers. Diabetologia, 42, 383–384.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Department of Health. (1999). The health survey for England 1999. Online publication at: http://www.dh.gov.uk/PublicationsAndStatistics/Published Survey.

  • DeRidder, C. M., Bruning, P. F., Zonderland, M. L., Thijssen, J. H. H., Bonfrer, J. M. G., Blankenstein, M. A., et al. (1990). Body fat mass, body fat distribution and plasma hormones in early puberty in females. Journal of Clinical and Endocrinological Metabolism, 70, 888–893.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eade, J. A., & Momen, R. (1996). Bangladeshis in Britain: A national database. London: Centre for Bangladeshi Studies.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellison, P. T., Lipson, S. F., Orourke, M. T., Bentley, G. R., Harrigan, A. M., Panterbrick, C., et al. (1993a). Population Variation in Ovarian-Function. Lancet, 342, 433–434.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ellison, P. T., Panterbrick, C., Lipson, S. F., & Orourke, M. T. (1993b). The ecological context of human ovarian-function. Human Reproduction, 8, 2248–2258.

    Google Scholar 

  • Furnham, A., & Alibhai, N. (1983). Cross-cultural differences in the perception of female body shapes. Psychological Medicine, 13, 829–837.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Furnham, A., McClelland, A., & Omer, L. (2003). A cross-cultural comparison of ratings of perceived fecundity and sexual attractiveness as a function of body weight and waist-to-hip ratio. Psychology, Health & Medicine, 8, 219–230.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Furnham, A., Tan, T., McManus, C. (1997). Waist-to-hip ratio and preferences for body shape: A replication and extension. Personality and Individual Differences, 22, 539–549.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garfinkel, P. E., & Garner, D. M. (1982). Anorexia nervosa: A multidimensional perspective. New York: Bruner and Mazel.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gitter, A., Lomranz, J., Saxe, L., & Bar-Tal, D. (1983). Perception of female physique characteristics by American and Israeli students. Journal of Social Psychology, 121, 7–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gluckman, P., & Hanson, M. (2005). The fetal matrix: Evolution, development and disease. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hartz, A. J., Rupley, D. C., & Rimm, A. A. (1984). The association of girth measurement with disease in 32,856 women. American Journal of Epidemiology, 119, 71–80.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henss, R. (1995). Waist-to-hip ratio and attractiveness: A replication and extension. Personality and Individual Differences, 19, 479–488.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hosegood, V., & Campbell, O. M. (2003). Body mass index, height, weight, arm circumference, and mortality in rural Bangladeshi women: A 19-y longitudinal study. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 77, 341–347.

    Google Scholar 

  • Islam, M. Z., Akhtaruzzaman, M., & Lamberg-Allardt, C. (2004). Nutritional status of women in Bangladesh: Comparison of energy intake and nutritional status of a low income rural group with a high income urban group. Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 13, 61–68.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jasienska, G., Ziomkiewicz, A., Ellison, P. T., Lipson, S. F., & Thune, I. (2004). Large breasts and narrow waists indicate high reproductive potential in women. Proceedings ofthe Royal Society ofLondon B, 271, 1213–1217.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • King, J. C. (2003). The risk of maternal nutritional depletion and poor outcomes increases in early or closely spaced pregnancies. Journal of Nutrition, 135 (Suppl. 2), 1732–1736.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kramer, M. S., Coates, A. L., Michoud, M. C., Dağenais, S., Hamilton, E. F., & Papageorgiou, A. (1995). Maternal Anthropometry and Idiopathic Preterm Labor. Obstetrics and Gynecology, 86, 744–748.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuh, D., & Schlomo, Y. B. (Eds.) (2004). A life course approach to chronic disease epidemiology (2nd ed.). London: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lahti-Koski, M., Pietinen, P., Männistö, S., & Vartiainen, E. (2000). Trends in waist-to-hip ratio and its determinants in adults in Finland from 1987 to 1997. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 72, 1436–1444.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lanska, D. J., Lanska, M. J., Hartz, A. J., & Rimm, A. A. (1985). Factors influencing anatomical location of fat tissue in 52,953 women. International journal of Obesity, 9, 29–38.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ley, C. J., Lees, B., & Stevenson, J. C. (1992). Sex-and menopause-associated change in body fat distribution. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 55, 950–954.

    Google Scholar 

  • Manson, J. E., Willet, W. C., Stampfer, M. J., Colditz, G. A., Hunter, D. J., Hankinson, S. E., et al. (1995). Body weight and mortality among women. New England Journal of Medicine, 333, 677–685.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marlowe, F., & Wetsman, A. (2001). Preferred waist-to-hip ratio and ecology Personality and Individual Differences, 30, 481–489.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marlowe, F., Apicella, C., & Reed, D. (2005). Men’s preferences for women’s profile waist-to-hip ratio in two societies. Evolution and Human behavior, 26, 458–468.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McGarvey, S. (1991). Obesity in Samoans and a perspective in its aetiology in Polynesians. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 53, 86–94.

    Google Scholar 

  • Misra, A., & Vikram, N. K. (2004). Insulin resistance syndrome (metabolic syndrome) and obesity in Asian Indians: Evidence and implications. Nutrition, 20, 482–491.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mohanty, C., Prasad, R., Reddy, A. S., Ghosh, J. K., Singh, T. B., & Das, B. K. (2006). Maternal anthropometry as predictors of low birth weight. Journal of Tropical Pediatrics, 52, 24–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nûnez-de la Mora, A., Chatterton, R. T., Choudhury, O., Napolitano, D., & Bentley, G. R. (in press — a). Childhood conditions determine adult progesterone levels. PLOS Medicine.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nûnez-de la Mora, A., Chatterton, R. T., Choudhury, O., Napolitano, D., & Bentley, G. R. (in press — b). The impact of developmental conditions on adult salivary estradiol levels: Why this differs from progesterone? American Journal of Human Biology.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pawlowski, B., & Grabarczyk, M. (2003). Center of body mass and the evolution of female body shape. American Journal of Biology, 15, 144–150.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pettijohn, T. F., & Jungeberg, B. J. (2004). Playboy Playmate curves: Changes in facial and body feature preferences across social and economic conditions. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 30, 1186–1197.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Powers, P. S. (1980). Obesity: The regulation of weight. Williams & Wilkins: Baltimore.

    Google Scholar 

  • Prentice, A. M. (2005). Early influences on human energy regulation: Thrifty genotypes and thrifty phenotypes. Physiology and behavior, 86, 640–645.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rhodes, G., Jeffery, L., Watson, T. L., Clifford, C. W. G., & Nakayama, K. (2003). Fitting the mind to the world: Face adaptation and attractiveness aftereffects. Psychological Science, 14, 558–566.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shell-Duncan, B., & Yung, S. A. (2004). The maternal depletion transition in northern Kenya: The effects of settlement, development and disparity. Social Science and Medicine, 58, 2485–2498.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simmons, R. (2005). Developmental origins of adult metabolic disease: Concepts and controversies. Trends in Endocrinological Metabolism, 16, 390–394.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singh, D. (1993). Adaptive significance of female physical attractiveness: Role of waist-to-hip ratio. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 293–307.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singh, D. (1994). Body fat distribution and perception of desirable female body shape by young black men and women. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 16, 289–294.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singh, D., & Luis, S. (1995). Ethnic and gender consensus for the role of waist-to-hip ratio on judgment of women’s attractiveness. Human Nature, 6, 51–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, K. L., Cornelissen, P. L., & Tovée, M. J. (2007). Color 3D bodies and judgements of human female attractiveness. Evolution and Human behavior, 28, 48–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sobal, J., & Stunkard, A. J. (1989). Socioeconomic status and obesity: A review of the literature. Psychological Bulletin, 105, 260–275.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steer, P. (2005). The epidemiology of preterm labor — a global perspective. Journal of Perinatal Medicine, 33, 273–276.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sugiyama, L. S. (2004). Is beauty in the context-sensitive adaptations of the beholder? Shiwiar use of waist-to-hip ratio in assessments of female mate value. Evolution and Human behavior, 25, 51–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Swami, V., & Tovée, M. J. (2005). Female physical attractiveness in Britain and Malaysia: A cross-cultural study. Body Image, 2, 115–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Swami, V., & Tovée, M. J. (2006). Do judgements of food influence preferences for female body weight? British Journal of Psychology, 97, 353–363.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Symons, D. (1979). The evolution of human sexuality. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tovée, M. J., & Cornelissen, P. L. (2001). Female and male perceptions of female physical attractiveness in front-view and profile. British Journal of Psychology, 92, 391–402.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tovée, M. J., Maisey, D. S., Emery, J. L., & Cornelissen, P. L. (1999). Visual cues to female physical attractiveness. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B, 266, 211–218.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tovée, M. J., Swami, V., Furnham, A., & Mangalparsad, R. (2006). Changing perceptions of attractiveness as observers are exposed to a different culture. Evolution and Human behavior, 27, 443–456.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tovée, M. J., Hancock, P., Mahmoodi, S., Singleton, B. R. R., & Cornelissen, P. L. (2002). Human female attractiveness: Waveform analysis of body shape. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B, 269, 2205–2213.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tracer, D. P. (2002). Somatic versus reproductive energy allocation in Papua New Guinea: Life history theory and public health policy. American Journal of Human Biology, 14, 621–626.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vikram, N. K., Misra, A., Pandey, R. M., Dudeja, V., Sinha, S., Ramadevi, J., et al. (2003). Anthropometry and body composition in northern Asian Indian patients with type 2 diabetes: Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis of body mass index with percentage body fat as standard. Diabetes, Nutrition and Metabolism, 16, 32–40.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vitzthum, V. J., Spielvogel, H., & Thornburg, J. (2004). Interpopulational differences in progesterone levels during conception and implantation in humans. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 101, 1443–1448.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vitzthum, V. J., Bentley, G. R., Spielvogel, H., Caceres, E., Thornburg, J., Jones, L., et al. (2002). Salivary progesterone levels and rate of ovulation are significantly lower in poorer than in better-off urban-dwelling Bolivian women. Human Reproduction, 17, 1906–1913.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wass, P., Waldenstrom, U., Rossner, S., & Hellberg, D. (1997). An android body fat distribution in females impairs the pregnancy rate of in-vitro fertilisation-embryo transfer. Human Reproduction, 12, 2057–2060.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wetsman, A., & Marlowe, F. (1999). How universal are preferences for female waist-to-hip ratios? Evidence from the Hadza of Tanzania. Evolution and Human Behaviour, 20, 219–228.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • World Bank Key Development Data and Statistics. (2005). Online publication at: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/DATASTATISTICS/Resources/GNIPC.pdf.

  • Yu, D. W., & Shepard, G. H. (1998). Is beauty in the eye of the beholder? Nature, 396, 321–322.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zaadstra, B. M., Seidell, J. C., van Noord, P. A. H., te Velde, E. R., Habbema, J. D. F., Vrieswijk, B., et al. (1993). Fat and female fecundity: Prospective study of effect of body fat distribution on conception rates. British Medical Journal, 306, 484–487.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bristol University, UK

    Isabel Scott (Ph.D. candidate in Evolutionary Psychology)

  2. Durham University, UK

    Gillian R. Bentley (Professor of Anthropology)

  3. Experimental Psychology Department, Cambridge University, UK

    Martin J. Tovée

  4. Department of Anthropology, University of Chittagong, Bangladesh

    Farid Uddin Ahamed (Professor and Chair)

  5. Department of Anthropology, University College London, UK

    Kesson Magid (a Ph.D. candidate)

Authors
  1. Isabel Scott
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Gillian R. Bentley
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Martin J. Tovée
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Farid Uddin Ahamed
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Kesson Magid
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Liverpool, UK

    Viren Swami (Research Associate) (Research Associate)

  2. University College London, UK

    Adrian Furnham (Professor of Psychology) (Professor of Psychology)

Copyright information

© 2007 Isabel Scott, Gillian R. Bentley, Martin J. Tovée, Farid Uddin Ahamed, and Kesson Magid

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Scott, I., Bentley, G.R., Tovée, M.J., Ahamed, F.U., Magid, K. (2007). An Evolutionary Perspective on Male Preferences for Female Body Shape. In: Swami, V., Furnham, A. (eds) The Body Beautiful. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230596887_5

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation