Body Fat, And Self-perceived Attractiveness And Mate-value In Women

Abstract

Mate-value (MV) represents one’s overall perceived desirability as a mate. For females, MV relies heavily on perceptions of physical attractiveness by oneself and others, which includes common body-related variables of body size, body shape, and body composition. From a public health standpoint, these body-related variables, especially body fat, are important due both their role on health, and their relationships to health behavior. PURPOSE: To provide exploratory data for the relationships between body fat and other various anthropometric measures with components of self-perceived MV and attractiveness in a sample of college-aged women (N = 55). METHODS: Self-perceived MV (overall and 7 separate components) and attractiveness were correlated with common anthropometric measures, including body weight, body mass index (BMI), waist and hip circumference, and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). In addition, participants completed a dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan, which provided total body fat percentage (BF%), fat mass, lean mass, and measures of regional fat distribution. RESULTS: Overall MV was significantly related to arm, leg, and lower body lean mass, accounting for 12% of the variance in self-ratings. Only the individual MV components representing physical attractiveness and attraction of the opposite sex held substantial association with body anthropometrics, accounting for a maximum of 18% of the variance. Lean and fat mass of the arms, hips, and lower body appear to be the strongest negative correlates and predictors of self-perceived MV and attractiveness within the present sample of women. CONCLUSIONS: These findings highlight how women can attribute high or low MV to themselves regardless of body size, shape or fat content. From a behavioral and public health standpoint, the present results provide further perspective on our understanding of the complex relationships of body fat, self-perceived attractiveness, MV and behavioral choices.