What is it that first attracts you to a woman? Is it her smile? Her personality? Her figure?

If, like many men, an 'hourglass figure' is your golden ticket, then you're not alone. A new study, published in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior, has claimed men think women with a 'low waist-to-hip ratio (WHRs)' – or 'hourglass' figures to the layman – have the most attractive bodies.

It's not just the way they look that makes men prefer them, though. Scientists claim it's in men's nature to prefer this body type because having an hourglass figure is a sign that a woman is young, has never been pregnant and has "key reproductive resources".

“Because evolution depends entirely on individual success in reproducing, anything to do with reproduction, such as choosing a mate, should be optimised by natural selection,” explains William D. Lassek, study author and a researcher in the Department of Anthropology at the University of California at Santa Barbara.

“Thus understanding the reasons why men find certain women attractive should help us better understand human evolution."

To reach their conclusion, the scientists examined data from more than 12,000 participants in two National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (US-based studies that explore the health and nutritional state of affairs of adults and children).

They found that, as well as being a sign of sexual maturity, a low WHR was also strongly associated with higher levels of omega-3 docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), a nutrient crucial during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Until now, it was thought that men preferred these figures because it told them that a woman was healthy and fertile, but now scientists are alleging that it gives away so much more information than that.

“For the past 30 years the explanation for male preferences that has generally been accepted is that they look for signs of health and fertility, but we have shown that the very small waist sizes and low BMIs linked with attractiveness in well-nourished women do not indicate better health or fertility,” Lassek tells PsyPost.

“What they do indicate is that a woman is likely to be young (15-19), has never been pregnant, and has maximal stores of brain building fatty acids. In groups where women have less food and are heavier in their teens, men prefer the higher BMIs that indicate youth. The preference of men for younger women will probably come as no surprise to most women.

“Also we believe that young women with attractive WHRs and BMIs may be better able to survive a first pregnancy when modern obstetric care is unavailable,” Lassek concludes.

Like this article? Sign up to our newsletter to get more articles like this delivered straight to your inbox.

SIGN UP