Abstract
What is the ideal body size and shape that we want for ourselves and our partners? What are the important physical features in this ideal? And do both genders agree on what is an attractive body? To answer these questions we used a 3D interactive software system which allows our participants to produce a photorealistic, virtual male or female body. Forty female and forty male heterosexual Caucasian observers (females mean age 19.10 years, s.d. 1.01; 40 males mean age 19.84, s.d. 1.66) set their own ideal size and shape, and the size and shape of their ideal partner using the DAZ studio image manipulation programme. In this programme the shape and size of a 3D body can be altered along 94 independent dimensions, allowing each participant to create the exact size and shape of the body they want. The volume (and thus the weight assuming a standard density) and the circumference of the bust, waist and hips of these 3D models can then be measured. The ideal female body set by women (BMI = 18.9, WHR = 0.70, WCR = 0.67) was very similar to the ideal partner set by men, particularly in their BMI (BMI = 18.8, WHR = 0.73, WCR = 0.69). This was a lower BMI than the actual BMI of 39 of the 40 women. The ideal male body set by the men (BMI = 25.9, WHR = 0.87, WCR = 0.74) was very similar to the ideal partner set by the women (BMI = 24.5, WHR = 0.86, WCR = 0.77). This was a lower BMI than the actual BMI of roughly half of the men and a higher BMI than the other half. The results suggest a consistent preference for an ideal male and female body size and shape across both genders. The results also suggest that both BMI and torso shape are important components for the creation of the ideal body.
Highlights
What makes a human body attractive to the opposite sex? In evolutionary psychology terms it is a judgment of a potential partner’s health and reproductive potential [1,2]
A comparison of the BMI values for the male participants’ actual body and their male ideal body showed a significant increase in the BMI of the ideal body (paired T-test: t(39) = 22.26, p = .029; effect size r = 0.34; power to detect at two-sided alpha of 0.05 = 0.59) [45]
This difference is significant for the female participants who showed a significant reduction in the BMI of their ideal body (paired Ttest: t(39) = 7.49, p,.0001; effect size r = 0.77; power to detect at two-sided alpha of 0.05..99 )
Summary
What makes a human body attractive to the opposite sex? In evolutionary psychology terms it is a judgment of a potential partner’s health and reproductive potential [1,2]. By taking anthropometric measures from all our participants, we can determine whether the participants’ own physical dimensions influence their choice of their own ideal body This morphing technique allows us to answer two key questions: What is the ideal body size and shape? BMI is an important predictor of male health and mortality [32,33], and a narrow waist circumference is important in long-term health and so should be associated with a low WHR [34,35] By asking both men and women to set their ideal bodies we can determine which features they change and how their ideal body differs from their actual bodies. Large the image set, it cannot provide a continuous smooth change along all feature dimensions and so can only provide a comparatively coarse grained assessment of attractiveness ideals
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