Evolution and Human Behavior 29 (2008) 19 – 25
Women's body morphology and preferences for
Boguslaw Pawlowskia,b,c,⁎, Grazyna Jasienskad,e
aDepartment of Anthropology, University of Wroclaw, 50-138 Wroclaw, Poland
bDepartamento de Ecologia Humana CINVESTAV-IPN, Unidad Mérida, 97310 Mérida, Mexico
cInstitute of Anthropology, Polish Academy of Sciences, 50-951 Wroclaw, Poland
dDepartment of Epidemiology and Population Studies, Collegium Medicum, Jagiellonian University, 31-531 Cracow, Poland
eRadcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
Initial receipt 18 December 2006; final revision received 3 July 2007
Mate preferences are condition dependent (i.e., females in better biological condition might be more demanding with respect to fitness-
relevant male traits). Such traits usually indicate male biological quality or ability to secure resources that could be invested in offspring. Herewe study female preferences for male resources, commitment, attractiveness, good sense of humor, and sensuality (when seeking both long-term and short-term partners) in relation to women's morphological traits such as height, weight, waist and hip girth, body mass index (BMI),and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). We show that preferences for resources and attractiveness do indeed depend on women's phenotype. Womenwith relatively lower WHR and BMI more strongly prefer resources in a potential long-term partner than those with higher WHR and BMI. However, when controlling for age, place of residence, and whether they have had children, it is WHR (but not BMI) that influences femalepreference for resources and attractiveness. Women with higher WHR (those who, according to many studies, are considered as lessattractive) are more prone to prefer physical attractiveness in a potential long-term partner. Furthermore, despite commitment having receivedthe highest score in a long-term context, the preference for this trait in a potential partner was not related to women's body morphology. Wesuggest evolutionary and proximate explanations for such condition-dependent preferences. 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Conditional preferences; Resources; Attractiveness; Commitment; WHR; BMI
much attention to commitment and resources, while men areusually more focused on physical attractiveness
Female and male preferences for a potential sexual
partner differ in key criteria with strong evolutionary
significance, which each sex uses when judging the quality
The priorities of desired traits in a potential partner may
of potential mates. Age, physical attractiveness, resources,
change in relation to the sexual strategy that can be pursued.
commitment to relationship, or social skills seem to be
For instance, when pursuing a short-term relationship (STR)
strategy, in contrast to a long-term relationship (LTR),
women may place more emphasis on physical attractiveness
). Furthermore, preferences may bedependent on a person's own characteristics, which wouldmean that they are condition dependent (). Individuals with more desirable mating
☆ This study was supported by a grant from the Polish State Committee
characteristics can impose higher demands (varying accord-
ing to what they have to offer) on potential partners.
⁎ Corresponding author. Department of Anthropology, University of
Negotiation can then take place, aiming to
E-mail address: bogus@antropo.uni.wroc.pl (B. Pawlowski).
own preferences in a way that allows the individual to find
1090-5138/$ – see front matter 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
B. Pawlowski, G. Jasienska / Evolution and Human Behavior 29 (2008) 19–25
the best-quality partner (relative to one's own mate value)
when choosing a potential short-term or long-term partner.
in a relatively short time. For instance, physically attractive
Preferences were established on the basis of prepared
and younger women are, on the average, more demanding
personal advertisements in which different traits were
in terms of potential partner quality than less attractive and
advertised. These traits were related to five dimensions of
human mate choice decisions: resources possessed, com-
tional preferences have been studied mainly with respect to
mitment, attractiveness, sensuality, and sense of humor.
Sense of humor as a component of social skills can be
treated as a proxy for social skills (the importance of
compared the preferences of people who were never
entertainment skills was highlighted by in his
married with the preferences of those who were divorced,
Scheherazade effect). We use here, therefore, the same
and they found that age itself was a more important factor
in influencing mate preferences than was experience of a
, who also studied mate preferences using relatively
previous marriage. Only a few studies have investigated
short personal advertisements.50-138Since women with
differences in mate preferences in dependence on the
more attractive physical characteristics should be more
physical characteristics of studied subjects.
demanding for traits in potential partners that can increase
showed that women with a more attractive waist-to-
their own reproductive success (e.g., resources possessed or
hip ratio (WHR) expressed greater attraction to healthier-
attractiveness), we test here the following hypotheses:
looking composite male faces, which suggests that they
Hypothesis 1. Women with lower values of BMI and WHR
were more demanding than women with a less attractive
(i.e., considered more attractive) are more demanding with
WHR. Preferences for differences in body height between
respect to resources in potential partners, both for LTRs and
partners depend on a person's height ().
In women, they may also depend on the sexual strategythat a woman pursues (long-term or short-term strategy)
Hypothesis 2. More attractive women, compared to less
attractive women, are more demanding with respect to the
attractiveness of potential partners, both for LTRs and for
Different condition-dependent preferences could have
only evolved if females in better biological conditions were
Furthermore, since male traits related to commitment are
able to obtain better-quality males. Females with high mate
very important for female reproductive success, we also
value should be more demanding for traits in potential
partners that, in given ecological conditions, assure better
Hypothesis 3. Women should highly value commitment
irrespective of their own physiques (without trading off for
this trait), meaning that there should be no difference in the
preference for this trait in dependence on the studied
morphological traits of a woman. An alternative hypothesis
symmetric and masculine male faces. In western societies,
suggests that less attractive women (those with higher BMI
and/or WHR) should be more concerned about this trait
because their chances of getting another partner are lower
and the risk that their partner will abandon them for another
We also tested the relative contributions of WHR and
BMI as determinants of women's condition-dependent
) were related to female attractiveness and/or her
preferences. A trait that is more important for assessing
potential mate value. There is, however, ongoing debate as
female attractiveness should be related to a higher level of
to which of these female traits is most important for assessing
her mate value and which contributes the most to others'perception of her attractiveness (e.g.,
Althoughthe results of these studies indicate that BMI is more
The women who participated in this study were subjects
important than WHR for female body attractiveness as
in a larger project on lifestyle variation and reproductive
assessed by men and women, the perception of the
function conducted in Poland from 2001 to 2003 (
attractiveness of this trait depends on culture and availability
were recruited for the study through advertisements posted
on newspapers and television programs. Only women who
Here we test whether the human female morphology
met the following criteria could take part in the study:
described by her BMI and WHR is related to her preferences
between 24 and 37 years of age (age-related variation in
B. Pawlowski, G. Jasienska / Evolution and Human Behavior 29 (2008) 19–25
steroid hormones is low for women in their peak
rank was 9+8+7+6) for RES, ATR, COM, and from 6 to 24
reproductive years; i.e., between 25 and 35–37 years;
for HUM and SEX, which were present in only three
advertisements, both for LTRs and STRs. Higher values
without fertility problems; not taking any hormonal medica-
meant a less desirable trait. To make the interpretation of the
tion or hormonal contraception; and neither pregnant nor
results easier, we transformed these variables into variables
lactating during the last 6 months before recruitment. All
in which higher values meant higher preference (for RES,
women were of the same ethnic origin (all were Polish
ATR, and COM, we subtracted the previously calculated
citizens). Participants' body weight, body height, and waist
value from 30; for HUM and SEX, we subtracted the
and hip circumferences were measured by a professional
previously calculated value from 24). The range of such
anthropologist. WHR was calculated as the circumference
obtained values was 0–20 for RES, ATR, and COM, and 0–
of the waist divided by the circumference of the hip. The
18 for HUM and SEX (where higher values mean higher
descriptive statistics for body measurements and two body
morphology indices were as follows: height (mean=163.1
Altogether, 148 women (mean age=29.9 years; S.D.=3.37)
cm; S.D.=6.39; range, 147.3–182.7); weight (mean=61.6
completed the questionnaire on preferences for a long-term
partner. Four women did not complete the questionnaire on
(mean=71.1 cm; S.D.=8.50; range, 58.0–103.6); hip girth
preferences for a short-term partner (N=144; mean age=29.9
(mean=97.9 cm; S.D.=7.11; range, 81.5–122.8); WHR
years; S.D.=3.38). There were 48 women who lived in rural
(mean=0.725; S.D.=0.049; range, 0.64–0.88); and BMI
areas (which are usually poorer than urban communities in
(mean=23.18; S.D.=3.72; range, 17.2–38.0). According to
Poland), and 100 were city dwellers. There was no difference
Kolmogorov–Smirnov tests, all these variables do not deviate
in age between rural and urban women (29.75 vs. 29.96 years;
statistically from normal distribution.
t=−0.35, df=146, p=.7), but rural women, on the average, were
The participants were given a two-page questionnaire.
shorter (160.8 vs. 164.2 cm; t=−3.01, pb.002), were heavier
On each page, there were nine short personal advertise-
(64.1 vs. 60.4 kg; t=2.06, pb.05), had higher BMI (24.8 vs.
ments, with an instruction to rank them from 1 to 9, where
22.4; t=3.79, pb.001), and had higher WHR (0.75 vs. 0.71;
1=most attractive and 9=least attractive (the one they
t=5.46, pb.001). Among women, 73 had at least one child,
would be least likely to respond to). One page referred to
and 75 were childless. Mothers, on the average, were older
choosing a partner for an LTR, and the other page referred
(31.1 vs. 28.7 years; t=−4.67, pb.0001), were heavier (64.7
to choosing a partner for an STR. In order to avoid simple
vs. 58.6 kg; t=−3.83, pb.001), had higher BMI (24.4 vs.
repetitions of preferences in long-term and short-term
22.0; t=−4.24, pb.001), and had higher WHR (0.74 vs. 0.71;
contexts, the order of the nine short advertisements was
t=−5.03, pb.001). There was no difference in height (162.9
different in tests for long-term and short-term contexts.
Neither the participants nor the investigators distributing
Differences in preferences for the same trait (e.g., RES)
the questionnaires were informed about the predictions of
between a choice for a long-term partner (LTR) and a
choice for a short-term partner (STR) were determined by
In the text of the advertisements, fitness-relevant male
t test. On the next step, we calculated partial correlations
traits were grouped into five categories: resources
between the categories of preferences and body measure-
(“resourceful”/“RES”; in four ads); attractiveness (“hand-
ments (height, weight, and waist and hip girths) and body
some”/“ATR”; in four ads); commitment (“affectionate”/
shape indices (BMI and WHR) when controlling for age.
“COM”; in four ads); good sense of humor (as a proxy of
The relationship between BMI and WHR, when controlled
social skills/“HUM”; in three ads); and sensuality (“sen-
for each other and for preferences, was tested in multiple
sual”/“SEX”; in three ads). In each advertisement, there
regression analyses separately for short-term and long-term
were only two categories (for instance, “resourceful and
choices. Due to the potential influence of age, place of
sensual” or “handsome and with good sense of humor”). In
residence, and parity on women's preferences and body
this way, we obtained the following combinations (both for
shape, age and two dummy variables [residence (urban/
long-term and short-term partners, but presented in a different
rural) and having or not having a child] were added to the
order): RES+SEX, COM+SEX, RES+HUM, RES+COM,
model. All analyses were run using SPSS software
The participants were expected to rank these advertise-
ments from 1 (the first they would have chosen) to 9 (the
least desirable). The sum of the ranks for each woman foreach category was calculated separately. Therefore, values
The differences between LTR and STR appeared to be
ranged from 10 (when a woman chose the first four
statistically significant for each category of preference
advertisements in which there was, e.g., RES, the total
). The biggest difference in preference between
rank for this trait was: 1+2+3+4) to 30 (when such a trait was
long-term and short-term strategies was for commitment
present only in the last four least desirable choices, the total
(t=16.56, pb.001). The most important trait for a long-term
B. Pawlowski, G. Jasienska / Evolution and Human Behavior 29 (2008) 19–25
these analyses) neither improved the models nor changed
Comparison between long-term and short-term preferences
Place of residence and having or not having a child,
which we included in our models, appeared also to have a
significant impact on some women's preferences. Women
living in the city prefer resources more than village
dwellers, while village dwellers show higher preferences
for male attractiveness and good sense of humor than city
dwellers. Women with children prefer more sensual
Only those women who answered both long-term and short-term
partners in LTRs and resources in a short-term partner,
questionnaires (N=144) were included.
and less sense of humor in the long-term context thanchildless women.
partner was commitment (COM; the t values for differences
between COM and any of the other four categories werebetween 13.8 and 18.5; pb.001); for a short-term partner, it
Our results confirmed only one part of Hypothesis 1—
was attractiveness (ATR; the t values for differences
Women with lower WHR (i.e., with more attractive WHR)
between ATR and any of the other four categories were
were more demanding for resources. BMI, another suggested
indicator of attractiveness, had no relationship to women's
We have also tested Spearman's correlations between five
preferences, when controlling for age, place of residence,
categories and found that preference for RES correlated
and motherhood This indicates that female mate
negatively with preference for COM (ρ=−0.23), ATR (ρ=
choices are related to their WHR, but not to their BMI.
0.59), HUM (ρ=−0.32), and SEX (ρ=−0.29); COM
Women with lower WHR have higher levels of estradiol in
correlated negatively with ATR (ρ=−0.34); and HUM
correlated negatively with SEX (ρ=−0.43) (in all cases,
levels are positively related to probability of conception
pb.005) in a long-term context; RES correlated negatively
with COM (ρ=−0.60), ATR (ρ=−0.37), and HUM (ρ=
women with lower WHR had a higher probability of
0.23); COM correlated negatively with ATR (ρ=−0.29) and
SEX (ρ=−0.19); and HUM correlated negatively with SEX
success rate for in vitro fertilization involving embryo
(ρ=−0.61), but ATR correlated positively with SEX (ρ=0.18)
(in all cases, pb.05) in a short-term context.
WHR then provides a reliable cue to fecundity and,
Partial correlations between the strength of preference
therefore, to higher reproductive potential. In contrast to
and body measurements (height, weight, waist girth, and
WHR, BMI does not show a linear relationship with ovarian
hip girth) and body morphology indices (BMI and WHR),
function. While women with very low or very high BMI
when controlling for age, showed that, altogether, there
often have reduced levels of ovarian estradiol and progester-
are fewer statistically significant correlations for STR than
for LTR Condition-dependent preferences are
of pregnancy, there is no relationship between BMI and
strongest for resources and attractiveness preferences. WHR and waist circumference were most frequentlyassociated with women's preferences.
shows all statistically significant or marginally
significant results from multiple regression analyses.
Partial correlations between five categories and different morphological
Because of differences in BMI and WHR between rural
and urban women, we included place of residence in the
analysis. For the same reason, we also included mother-hood. All statistically significant effects were for LTR
preferences (only the result for COM in the long-term
context was not significant: R=.18, p=.4). Multiple R
values indicate that models for RES and ATR explain more
variance than models for good sense of humor or
sensuality. There is no single conditional preference that
depends on BMI (when controlling for other factors), and
there are three conditional preferences (for resources in
long-term and short-term contexts and for attractiveness in
There was no conditional preference for height and hip size.
a long-term context) that are related to WHR. Allowing a
nonlinear function with age (i.e., adding age squared to all
B. Pawlowski, G. Jasienska / Evolution and Human Behavior 29 (2008) 19–25
The category of preference is the dependent variable; the independent variables are age, residence, parity, BMI, and WHR (only those categories of preferencesfor which the results were significant or marginally significant).
⁎ p=.051 (marginally significant).
levels of ovarian steroids in women within a normal range
study. The lack of any conditional preferences for com-
mitment (at least as far as female body morphology is
concerned) and a very high preference for this trait seem
Furthermore, our results suggest that Hypothesis 2—
to confirm the evolutionary importance of this male trait
that women with lower WHR and BMI show a higher
preference for male attractiveness—should be rejected. We
In the short-term context, we found only a few
found that, in fact, the opposite is true. Women with
correlations between women's preferences and their
higher WHR expressed a higher preference for male
morphology ). This indicates that preferences for
attractiveness (there was no significant relationship with
short-term partners are condition dependent to a lesser
BMI). It can be hypothesized that women with higher
extent than preferences for long-term partners. Our results,
WHR (i.e., less attractive ones) may more intensively
however, confirmed that male attractiveness is most
“hunt for genes” related to attractiveness to increase their
important in the short-term context (This trait is
offspring's chance to be more attractive and, therefore, to
generally treated as a cue of good genes; when pursuing a
have a greater chance of reproductive success.
short-term strategy (i.e., not expecting paternal investment
as they would from a long-term partner), women usually
attractive women prefer more attractive male faces. Such
pay more attention to signs of good genes (i.e., attractive-
conditional preference was expressed when the authors
studied only differences in one dimension, namely,
attractiveness. By contrast, in our results, attractiveness
between women's preferences in the long-term and short-
per se appeared to be less important than resources offered
term contexts for all studied traits provide additional
in terms of conditional preference. This might be related
evidence of differences between those two sexual strategies
to the fact that, in our studies, traits such as attractiveness
had to compete with other male characteristics. According
City dwellers' higher preference for resources probably
reflects ecological aspects such as higher competitiveness
male resources are more important than male attractive-
and higher costs of living in big cities than in villages.
ness. In our study, general attractiveness (“handsomeness”)
In conclusion, our study indicates that women's prefer-
competed with resources. This may explain why we
ences for male resources and attractiveness are dependent on
observed a positive relationship between female body
their body shape. WHR, rather than BMI, shows a relation-
attractiveness and male resources, which are a necessity,
ship with women's selectiveness for the resources of their
and a negative relationship with male attractiveness. Only
potential partners. As expected, commitment in an LTR is so
when other traits are equal in importance to resources or
important for women that we found the preference for this
when other traits are not controlled in a study can
male trait to be independent of women's body shape.
positive conditionality for “luxury” traits (based on the
Although we observed WHR-conditional preferences for
attractiveness in a potential long-term partner in a direction
opposite to what we expected, we suggest that this result can
We confirmed Hypothesis 3—There is no condition-
be explained on both ultimate and proximate levels of
ality or tradeoff between any of the tested women's
causation. This study was conducted, however, on a single
traits and preference for a man's commitment in the
sample of Polish women, and further studies are necessary
long-term context. The mean score for commitment was
to determine whether this kind of condition dependence
much higher than for any other trait included in the
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Evidence from personal advertisements. Ethology and Sociobiology, 14,
Medicine's Dirty Little Secret Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; Time Magazine; Dr. Joseph Mercola There's one medical statistic doctors don't much talk about despite its importance. It's called the NUMBER NEEDED TO TREAT, or NNT and it’s one of the best-kept statistical secrets in medicine. When the NNT statistic was first developed in 1988, it was intended to help you make a decision abou
HEALTH HISTORY Have you ever had any of the following diseases or medical problems? (Please read thoroughly and circle “Yes” or “No”.) Yes No Heart Attack/Stroke Yes No Cancer/Chemotherapy Yes No Heart Murmur/Rheumatic Fever Yes No HIV+/AIDS Yes No Heart Surgery/Pacemaker Yes No Shingles Yes No Heart Valve (Artificial) Yes No Kidney Problems Y