... Is through his stomach." Apparently this age old adage may have more to it than just a gastronomical angle. Men, it seems are attracted to women of differeng body shapes depending on how hungry they are. Satiated men with full stomachs find slender women appealing. Hungry men on the other hand, are attracted to the more zaftig types. So says a study in The British Journal of Psychology. I tend to not take such socio-psychology /biology too seriously. But such studies shine the light on interesting evolutionary aspects of our sexual aesthetics and culture which can also sometimes be quite amusing.
I have no quarrel with the conclusions derived at by the researchers. But they raised a pair of perplexing questions in my mind. First, do men look at women and think of morsels of food? If so, that is mildly disturbing but not wholly surprising. Secondly, most women meet their future mates during the younger, leaner years - presumably after the men have had a satisfying lunch. With child birth and advancing years, many women gain weight. In order to keep their men interested, should they see to it that their partners remain slightly hungry in middle age? On the other hand, why bother?
"How full a man's stomach is can dictate the type of woman he will fancy, UK research suggests.
A study of 61 male university students found those who were hungry were attracted to heavier women than those who were satiated. The hungry men also paid much less attention to a woman's body shape and regarded less curvy figures as more attractive.
The study appears in The British Journal of Psychology.
Food lust
Although it is not clear exactly how hunger exerts an influence on attraction, past research suggests social, cultural and psychological factors are involved. In some societies where food is a limited resource, such as the South Pacific, higher body weights are revered. In others where food is abundant, such as the West, lower female body weights are preferred.
Evolutionary psychologists believe this is a survival preference. What you are looking for in a mate is the best chance of healthy offspring and in an environment where food is scarce, a heavier woman is deemed a safer bet for this.
What can be regarded as a normal and acceptable body size is also influenced by what we see, including advertising, and can change. For example, migrants from rural to urban societies show an increasing idealisation of thinner figures.
Dr Viren Swami from University College London and Dr Martin Tovée from Newcastle University believe there are biological factors at work too.
Dr Tovée explained: "Your cognitive state, your drives and your interests are dependent on your underlying physiology, your blood sugar levels and your hormone levels and these depend upon hunger."
They recruited male university students as they entered or exited a campus dining hall during dinner time. They asked the men to rate how hungry they were on a scale of one to seven. Using these responses, the researchers selected 30 hungry and 31 satiated men to take part in the study.
The men were then asked to rate the attractiveness of 50 women of varying weights, all within a healthy range, who had been photographed wearing tight grey leotards and leggings.
The hungry men rated more of the heavier women as attractive than the men who were full up."
They do studies on just about any random thing. And it is very amusing.Esp, the conclusion on middle aged women...
I really enjoy reading your blog. And the way you knead your viewpoint to the dough.
Posted by: ArbitOrbit | February 05, 2007 at 01:03 PM
Thank you Arbit. Please visit as often as you can.
Posted by: Ruchira Paul | February 05, 2007 at 01:32 PM