Men find women who have smaller waists more physically attractive and say their sex lives are more satisfying. They say previous research has indicated that men generally rate slimmer women as more sexually attractive.
This may be owing to evolutionary terms, we are programmed to relate people who are overweight with an increased risk of health issues.
To assess the link between women’s waist size and her perceived sexual attractiveness to her partner – and their general sexual satisfaction – they rated a man’s sexual function using a questionnaire.
They also recorded how often the study participants – 700 Czech men aged 35-65 years – had intercourse.
Men who suffered the least performance issues were younger, had younger partners and their partner had a slimmer waist. They were also more sexually satisfied.
Lead researcher Stuart Brody, professor of psychology at the University of West Scotland, said it was ‘noteworthy’ that a woman with a slim waist was regarded as more attractive in all measures of sexual function independent of both partners’ age
One was that women’s abdominal body fat decreased their own desire on a hormonal level – perhaps hampering libido. And another being man simply found slimmer women more attractive.
With regards to waist measurement being used as the definite measurement, the researchers pointed out that waist circumference is often a better measurement of health than Body Mass Index (BMI) – particularly the risk of heart disease in women.