While many dates are desperate for love, others are happy to play on the court and settle for short-term adventures.
Now, a new study has revealed how your weight affects people’s perceptions of your dating intentions.
University of Arkansas claim that fat people are seen as more interested in long-term relationships, while thin people seem to prefer adventures.
University of Arkansas researchers say fat people are seen as more interested in long-term relationships, while thin people seem to prefer adventures (stock image)
A group of 295 participants were shown four computer-generated male and four female bodies that had high or low fat levels and small or large muscles or breasts.
In the study, the team sought to understand how our physical characteristics infer our mating preferences.
‘Obesity [being overweight]a traditionally unappealing trait, connotes parenting capacity which could imply that individuals prefer long-term mating strategies (LTMs) that emphasize monogamy and biparental investing, “wrote the researchers in their study, published in Journal of social and personal relations.
‘This study looked at how such bodily features shape perceptions of mating orientations.’
A group of 295 participants were shown four computer-generated male and four female bodies that had high or low fat levels and small or large muscles or breasts.
After viewing each picture, participants were asked to rate whether they thought the person would be interested in long-term relationships or short-term relationships.
The results revealed that participants rated high-fat women and men as more prone to long-term relationships than thin women and thin men.
Meanwhile, women and men with larger breasts with larger muscles were rated as more likely to desire a short-term relationship than those with smaller breasts or muscles.
talking with PsyPostMitch Brown, first author of the study, said, “We stereotype people’s mating interests based on how we expect their bodies to shape their self-perception.
“If you perceive yourself as very attractive, you may think you can engage in short-term sexual strategies more easily due to the higher likelihood of success.
“Large muscles and breasts are attractive to both men and women, so these characteristics should lead earners to consider these characteristics as diagnostic of an interest in a short-term strategy.
In contrast, due to the heuristic association with parental abilities and body fat, as well as the perception of body fat as less desirable for a one night stand, participants viewed higher levels of fat as an interest in learning. ‘long-term mating “.
The researchers point out that different body fat distributions could affect the results.
For example, previous studies have shown that women with more belly weight are more stigmatized than women with fat on their hips, thighs and buttocks.
“Future research should consider the propensity of the goals to infidelity, partner protection, or the specific type of investment the parents would have (there are many other opportunities for future work),” Brown explained.
“I would also like to encourage discussion of which muscles are most important for this assessment in men (e.g. upper body only or all over) and how different fat depositions in women’s bodies might shape perceptions (e.g. , comparing the shapes of apple and pear). ”
Kim Kardashian’s hourglass figure is more damaging to women’s body image than Kate Moss’s slim build, study says
Kim Kardashian (pictured) is an example of a woman with the ideal “slim” or “hourglass” body, which researchers say is “characterized by a large butt and thighs, small waist and flat stomach”
Kim KardashianAccording to a new study, Kate Moss’s hourglass figure is more damaging to women’s body image than Kate Moss’s slim build.
Researchers in Canada showed women Instagram photos of “slim”, “slim” or “ideal fit” body types.
Thin or “hourglass”, as seen in Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jennerand Beyoncé, it features ‘a big butt and thighs and a small waist and flat stomach’.
Meanwhile, “slim” describes slim shapes with flat bellies and small waists, like Kate Moss, and “fit” describes more toned and athletic female physiques.
The researchers found that women exposed to “thin” photos felt more dissatisfied with their weight and appearance.
Women with “thin” bodies are thought to have become much more prevalent in Western culture in recent years, in part thanks to social media.
But the pressure felt by young women to achieve such a physique could be even more damaging than the pressure in society to be ultrathin.