Cross-cultural consensus for waist–hip ratio and women's attractiveness

By Devendrá Singh, Barnaby J. W. Dixson, T. Jessop, Bethan J. Morgan, A. Dixson. 2010

166 citations recorded by the source corpus.

In women of reproductive age, a gynoid body fat distribution as measured by the size of waist–hip ratio (WHR) is a reliable indicator of their sex hormone profile, greater success in pregnancy and less risk for major diseases. According to evolutionary mate selection theory, such indicators of health and fertility should be judged as attractive. Previous research has confirmed this prediction. In this current research, we use the same stimulus for diverse racial groups (Bakossiland, Cameroon, Africa; Komodo Island, Indonesia; Samoa; and New Zealand) to examine the universality of relationships between WHR and attractiveness. As WHR is positively correlated with body mass index (BMI), we controlled BMI by using photographs of women who have gone through micrograft surgery for cosmetic reasons. Results show that in each culture participants selected women with low WHR as attractive, regardless of increases or decreases in BMI. This cross-cultural consensus suggests that the link between WHR and female attractiveness is due to adaptation shaped by the selection process.

Subfields: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology, Gender Studies, Sociology and Political Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/289794dd3fe59bb2b25e14b14ec73f07b7aa428e

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In Experimental and Cognitive Psychology

  1. D. Singh
  2. Devendrá Singh
  3. D. Puts
  4. David Feinberg
  5. Lisa L. M. Welling
  6. Khytam Dawood
  7. B. Jones

In Gender Studies

  1. D. Puts

In Sociology and Political Science

  1. D. Puts

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