Medical expert of the article
New publications
Stress makes men prefer fat women thin
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
All iLive content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible.
We have strict sourcing guidelines and only link to reputable media sites, academic research institutions and, whenever possible, medically peer reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses ([1], [2], etc.) are clickable links to these studies.
If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, out-of-date, or otherwise questionable, please select it and press Ctrl + Enter.
Men in stress consider full women more attractive than skinny. Wrong, this is due to the fact that the full partner seems more reliable and adapted to a difficult life.
Stress causes men to prefer fat women to thin. Psychologists from the University of Westminster and Newcastle (both from the United Kingdom) invited volunteers in the guise of a job interview, which clearly drove the person into stress, or, conversely, organized a relaxed vacation for the guests in a comfortable room. In total, about eighty men passed through the experiment.
After an interview or a relaxing rest, the subject had to evaluate the attractiveness of women in the photo. Ladies had shapes for every taste, from almost anorexic to obese. As the researchers write in the PLoS ONE web journal, subjects who experienced stress preferred "women in the body," while their well-rested comrades "put" on the skinny. Stressed felt normal weight in women more attractive, and men who learned rest, attracted weight below the norm.
Perhaps these results will be useful for complete women who can not find a partner in any way (with your permission, we will not allow ourselves jokes about "veterans of hot spots" and a psychological thriller into which the search for a partner can turn). Well, seriously, then we have something to think about from a sociocultural point of view: for example, how the standards of female beauty vary depending on the age and ethnic characteristics.
The study confirms the well-known hypothesis that stress forces the individual to seek protection - which means that the partner should also look "reliable". The full man is obviously more knowledgeable in the production of food and has access to resources, that is, in which case he can feed. In addition, play a role and considerations about the continuation of the genus: a very thin woman is difficult to conceive, endure the child and feed him, and the male does not need another stress - connected with the inability to leave his precious offspring.
[1]