A study published in the British Journal of Psychology showed that men find heavier women more attractive when hungry.
A study published in the British Journal of Psychology showed that men find heavier women more attractive when hungry. A team of psychologist who wanted to test their theory linking appetite and sexual preference conducted the study and found that hungry men preferred heavier women.
Dr Viren Swami from Liverpool University's Department of Public Health and Dr Martin Tovee from Newcastle University conducted the study among 60 university students. Half of the selected men had had a full meal while half of them were on empty stomach. They men were asked to rate the attractiveness of women of different body shapes with the faces of the women masked to ensure that they were judged on body shape alone. The results showed that hungry men found heavier women to be more attractive.Dr. Swami said that hungry men are much more tolerant and rated obese women more positively than men who have eaten, although the difference in rating was very small between obese women and women in the normal weight range. Studies also suggested evolutionary preference of men for plumper women. Dr. Swami said that in evolutionary terms more weight means more resources.
Evolutionary psychologists believe that this is a survival preference as the best chance of healthy offspring in an environment where food is scarce is a heavier woman.
Dr. Tovee explained that cognitive state, drives, and interests are dependent on the underlying physiology, blood sugar levels and hormone levels, and these depend upon hunger, and this explains how physiology does impact our perceptions and thought process.
The psychologists have now planned to look at how hunger impacts female attraction to males.
