A study led by scientists at the University of Pretoria in South Africa and published in the November 27 issue of the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Nor repels the long-known myth according to which macho features are what a woman is more attracted by in men.Scientists say that the macho aspect has long been related with a healthy body and a good functioning of the immune system.
However, they discovered that not masculine facial features such as a powerful jaw or a sharp gaze is what determines a male's health or attractiveness, but the weight of his body, Lice Science reports.
In an attempt to determine the role of the body fat in a man's immune system's functioning as well and is his attractiveness to women, researchers have made an experiment.
First, they had 69 Caucasian males photographed in underwear. They also had the men's body fat and testosterone level measured, and their immune system's response registered.
Afterwards, the men were given a vaccine for hepatitis B. It was observed that the bodies with a strong immune system response released a higher amount of antidotes than the one whose response was weaker.
Then, 29 heterosexual Latvian women in the fertile state of their menstrual cycles were asked to look at the picture and state the men's attractiveness level.
Meanwhile, 20 Finnish men and women were asked to determine the men's manhood and other 14 Latvian women – to state their facial fatness.
The experiment revealed that dumpy men were both unattractive and unhealthy. Surprisingly, it was proved that masculinity wasn't related to any of the above features.
“We found that a man’s weight serves as a better indicator of the relationship between immune response and attractiveness than masculinity does,” said Vinet Coetzee, researcher at the University of Pretoria.
“It is therefore more likely that Latvian women use weight, rather than masculinity, in their subconscious judgments of a man’s immunity.”
Researchers admit that there might be some gaps in the accuracy
of the study, because of the complexity of the immune system's measures, which has not been taken into account.
However, it “serves as a stepping stone for future studies that could test this relationship in different populations using alternative measures of immunity,” Coetzee said
Read more: http://www.indiavision.com/news/article/lifestyle/372653/women-prefer-skinny-over-macho/#ixzz2DeMjSbco
In an attempt to determine the role of the body fat in a man's immune system's functioning as well and is his attractiveness to women, researchers have made an experiment.
First, they had 69 Caucasian males photographed in underwear. They also had the men's body fat and testosterone level measured, and their immune system's response registered.
Afterwards, the men were given a vaccine for hepatitis B. It was observed that the bodies with a strong immune system response released a higher amount of antidotes than the one whose response was weaker.
Then, 29 heterosexual Latvian women in the fertile state of their menstrual cycles were asked to look at the picture and state the men's attractiveness level.
Meanwhile, 20 Finnish men and women were asked to determine the men's manhood and other 14 Latvian women – to state their facial fatness.
The experiment revealed that dumpy men were both unattractive and unhealthy. Surprisingly, it was proved that masculinity wasn't related to any of the above features.
“We found that a man’s weight serves as a better indicator of the relationship between immune response and attractiveness than masculinity does,” said Vinet Coetzee, researcher at the University of Pretoria.
“It is therefore more likely that Latvian women use weight, rather than masculinity, in their subconscious judgments of a man’s immunity.”
Researchers admit that there might be some gaps in the accuracy
of the study, because of the complexity of the immune system's measures, which has not been taken into account.However, it “serves as a stepping stone for future studies that could test this relationship in different populations using alternative measures of immunity,” Coetzee saidWashington - Women respond more to fatness and thinness, not macho features, when considering male mates, researchers say.
Although macho features have long been touted as an evolutionary asset that heterosexual women look for in a potential mate, new research suggests that weight may be a more powerful driver of attraction.
Study researcher Vinet Coetzee, a postdoctoral scientist at the University of Pretoria in South Africa, said that fatness, or adiposity, “is an obvious choice for a marker of immunity because of its strong association with health and immunity.”
According to the immunocompetence handicap hypothesis, macho features like a strong jaw and squinty eyes advertise that a guy possesses high testosterone but since high levels of this masculinizing hormone interfere with the immune system, the theory goes, macho men must be extra-fit to withstand the handicap their extra testosterone confers.
The trouble with the immunocompetence handicap hypothesis is that masculinity is not universally attractive to women.
Weight is consistently linked both to health and immune system functioning, Coetzee said. Both overweight and underweight individuals are more likely to have health problems and poor immune function.
Weight is consistently linked both to health and immune system functioning, Coetzee said. Both overweight and underweight individuals are more likely to have health problems and poor immune function.
To test the evolutionary role of fat, Coetzee and his colleagues first photographed 69 Caucasian male volunteers in underwear. They also measured the men’s body fat and testosterone levels. About 65 percent were healthy weight, 4 percent were underweight and 30.4 percent were overweight or obese.
The men’s immune system response was also measured with a blood test done before and after they received a vaccine for hepatitis B. Men with strong immune responses showed more antibody production after the vaccine than men with weak immune systems. Antibodies are the proteins that recognize and help neutralize foreign invaders in the body.
Next, 29 heterosexual Latvian women looked at photographs of the men’s faces and bodies separately and judged them on attractiveness. All of the women were in the fertile phases of their menstrual cycles, as judged by counting back from the last menstrual period to the day of likely ovulation.
A separate group of 20 heterosexual Finnish men and women rated the men for masculinity, and 14 other Latvian women rated the men’s facial fatness, or adiposity, which is highly related to overall body fatness.
The results revealed that fatness, as measured with facial adiposity, was linked to both antibody response and attractiveness, with pudgier men both having weaker immune systems and being seen as less appealing by the fertile women.
A statistical analysis found that contrary to what the immunocompetence handicap would suggest, masculinity was not linked to either immune response or bodily or facial attractiveness.
“We found that a man’s weight serves as a better indicator of the relationship between immune response and attractiveness than masculinity does,” Discovery News quoted Coetzee as saying.
“It is therefore more likely that Latvian women use weight, rather than masculinity, in their subconscious judgments of a man’s immunity,” Coetzee said.
Additionally, the researchers found that testosterone levels were also more closely linked with weight than with macho looks.
Read more: http://www.indiavision.com/news/article/lifestyle/372653/women-prefer-skinny-over-macho/#ixzz2DeMjSbco
0 comments:
Post a Comment