Body weight, waist-to-hip ratio and breast size correlates of ratings of attractiveness and health

Abstract

This study looked at the contribution of body weight, breast size and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) in ratings of female attractiveness, femininity, health and fecundity. One hundred and fifty eight participants rated 36 line drawings that varied 2 levels of breast size, 3 of body weight and 6 of WHR. Whilst there was evidence of some differences between the four ratings there was a clear pattern. Effect sizes were higher for WHR (0.34–0.52) than body weight (0.14–0.31), whilst there were no main effects for breast size. The body weight × WHR interactions were marginally significant while WHR × breast size interactions had effect sizes ranging from 0.16 to 0.23. Work in this area appears to yield different results and conclusions depending on the stimulus materials used and the data analysis method employed.