Abdominal depth and waist circumference as influential determinants of human female attractiveness

Rilling, James K.; Kaufman, Torrey L.; Smith, E. O’Brian; Patel, R. B.; Worthman, Carol M.

doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2008.08.007

Cited by 58 publications

(80 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…Because it is highly correlated (.92) with BMI in women (Freedman et al, 2012), it might be expected that larger hip sizes would be deemed less attractive. Supporting this, a negative relationship of hip size with attractiveness has been found in three studies (Rilling et al, 2008;Singh & Young, 1995;Tassinary & Hansen, 1998). However, other studies have found no relationship (Grundl, Eisenmann-Klein, & Prantl, 2009;Pokrykwa et al, 2006) or a preference for medium-sized hips (Forestell et al, 2004;Krantz, Ballard, & Scher, 1997;Prantl & Grundl, 2011).…”

Section: Hip Size and Attractivenessmentioning

confidence: 79%

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What Makes Jessica Rabbit Sexy? Contrasting Roles of Waist and Hip Size

Lassek

Gaulin

2016

Evol Psychol

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While waist/hip ratio (WHR) and body mass index (BMI) have been the most studied putative determinants of female bodily attractiveness, BMI is not directly observable, and few studies have considered the independent roles of waist and hip size. The range of attractiveness in many studies is also quite limited, with none of the stimuli rated as highly attractive. To explore the relationships of these anthropometric parameters with attractiveness across a much broader spectrum of attractiveness, we employ three quite different samples: a large sample of college women, a larger sample of Playboy Playmates of the Month than that has been previously examined, and a large pool of imaginary women (e.g., cartoon, video game, graphic novel characters) chosen as the ''most attractive'' by university students. Within-sample and between-sample comparisons agree in indicating that waist size is the key determinant of female bodily attractiveness and accounts for the relationship of both BMI and WHR with attractiveness, with between-sample effect sizes of 2.4-3.2. In contrast, hip size is much more similar across attractiveness groups and is unrelated to attractiveness when BMI or waist size is controlled.

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Section: Hip Size and Attractivenessmentioning

confidence: 79%

“…In the single prior study that directly compared BMI and waist size as predictors of attractiveness, waist size was the stronger factor (Rilling et al, 2008).…”

Section: Waist Size and Attractivenessmentioning

confidence: 98%

What Makes Jessica Rabbit Sexy? Contrasting Roles of Waist and Hip Size

Lassek

Gaulin

2016

Evol Psychol

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“…The physical dimensions of the stomach are a good index of the overall body mass (e.g. Wells et al, 2007Wells et al, , 2008Cornelissen et al, 2009b), and a recent study proposed stomach depth as an index of overall body mass (Rilling et al, 2009). Thus, fixating the central torso would allow the degree of stomach protrusion to be estimated and is an effective way of sampling an information rich area.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns of eye movements when male and female observers judge female attractiveness, body fat and waist-to-hip ratio

Cornelissen¹,

Hancock²,

Kiviniemi³

et al. 2009

Evolution and Human Behavior

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Behavioural studies of the perceptual cues for female physical attractiveness have suggested two potentially important features; body fat distribution (the waist-to-hip ratio or WHR) and overall body fat (often estimated by the body mass index or BMI). However none of these studies tell us directly which regions of the stimulus images inform observers' judgments. Therefore, we recorded the eye-movements of 3 groups of 10 male observers and 3 groups of 10 female observers, when they rated a set of 46 photographs of female bodies. The first sets of observers rated the images for attractiveness, the second sets rated for body fat and the third sets for WHR. If either WHR and/or body fat are used to judge attractiveness, then observers rating attractiveness should look at those areas of the body which allow assessment of these features, and they should look in the same areas when they are directly asked to estimate WHR and body fat. So we are able to compare the fixation patterns for the explicit judgments with those for attractiveness judgments, and infer which features were used for attractiveness. Prior to group analysis of the eye-movement data, the locations of individual eye fixations were transformed into a common reference space to permit comparisons of fixation density at high resolution across all stimuli. This manipulation allowed us to use spatial statistical analysis techniques to show: 1) Observers' fixations for attractiveness and body fat clustered in the central and upper abdomen and chest, but not the pelvic or hip areas, consistent with the finding that WHR had little influence over attractiveness judgments. 2) The pattern of fixations for attractiveness ratings was very similar to the fixation patterns for body fat judgments. 3) The fixations for WHR ratings were significantly different from those for attractiveness and body fat.

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“…In other words, shape, not weight, proved to be the primary indicator of physical attractiveness. A few studies conducted only in the United States find that BMI is a better predictor of female attractiveness than WHR (e.g., Wilson et al 2005), and one found that abdominal depth was a better predictor than either BMI or WHR (Rilling et al 2009). However, research involving diverse racial groups from Bakossiland (Cameroon, Africa), Komodo Island (Indonesia), Samoa, and New Zealand find that WHR is linked with judgments of female attractiveness, regardless of increases or decreases in BMI (Singh et al 2010), adding to the weight of evidence indicating a strong cross-cultural consensus.…”

Section: Whr and Attractiveness Judgmentsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Shape and Significance of Feminine Beauty: An Evolutionary Perspective

Singh

2011

Sex Roles

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Evolutionary and feminist perspectives on female beauty are compatible in some respects, such as the oppressive and destructive outcomes for women as a consequence of the importance attached to female beauty. The perspectives tend to differ on the issue of the origins of (some) beauty standards. Evolutionary scientists have proposed that beauty is a reliable cue for women's health and fertility. However, as the factors regulating health and reproductive capabilities cannot be directly observed, sexual selection has fashioned psychological adaptations to attend to bodily features that are correlated with health and fertility. It is proposed that people resonate to such bodily features and find them attractive. One such bodily feature in women is gynoid body distribution (i.e., femalenormative body shape in which fat distribution is concentrated around hips and thighs). Gynoid body fat distribution is measured by the ratio of waist and hips circumferences (WHR). In this paper we summarize empirical evidence showing that WHR is an independent predictor for risks for major diseases, optimal hormonal profile, and reproductive capabilities. Next, we present findings from studies that demonstrate systematic variations in the size of WHR produce systematic changes in judgment of female attractiveness within diverse societies throughout the world. Such widespread appeal of low WHR suggests that people have evolved mental mechanisms to judge body features indicative of good health as attractive, meaning that some standards of beauty are not arbitrary or constructed. We conclude that a better understanding and appreciation of the beauty-health linkage can be empowering to women.

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Abdominal depth and waist circumference as influential determinants of human female attractiveness

Cited by 58 publications

References 36 publications

What Makes Jessica Rabbit Sexy? Contrasting Roles of Waist and Hip Size

What Makes Jessica Rabbit Sexy? Contrasting Roles of Waist and Hip Size

Patterns of eye movements when male and female observers judge female attractiveness, body fat and waist-to-hip ratio

Shape and Significance of Feminine Beauty: An Evolutionary Perspective

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