Best Female Figure Not an Hourglass

(本文標題也可以譯為︰《文化和經濟因素影響審美觀》)

LiveScience Staff, LiveScience.com

An imperfect body might be just what the doctor ordered

for women and key to their economic success, an

anthropologist now says.

While pop culture seems to worship the hourglass figure 

for females, with a tiny waist, big boobs and curvy hips à

la Marilyn Monroe, this may not be optimal, says Elizabeth

Cashdan of the University of Utah.

That's because the hormones that make women 

physically stronger, more competitive and better able to

deal with stress also tend to redistribute fat from the hips

to the waist.

So in societies and situations where women are under

pressure to procure resources and otherwise bring home

the bacon, they may be less likely to have the classic

hourglass figure, Cashdan hypothesizes in the December

issue of the journal Current Anthropology.

Curve crazy

Until now, scientists (and apparently Western society)

thought a curvy figure trumped other body shapes. The

idea was based on results from medical studies that

suggested a curvy waist-to-hip ratio of 0.7 or lower

(meaning the waist is significantly narrower than the hips)

is associated with higher fertility and lower rates of

chronic disease.

In addition, past research has revealed that men prefer a

ratio of 0.7 or lower when looking for a mate. The

preference makes perfect sense, according to

evolutionary psychologists, because the low ratio is a

reliable signal of a healthy, fertile woman. Along those

lines, Playboy centerfolds tend to have a waist-to-hip

ratio of 0.68, Cashdan found.

However, women around the world tend to have larger

waist-to-hip ratios (more cylindrical than hourglass-

shaped) than is considered optimal by these medical and

social standards.

Specifically, Cashdan compiled data from 33 non-Western

populations and four European populations, finding the

average waist-to-hip ratio for women was above 0.8. So

if 0.7 is the magic number both in terms of health and

male mate choice, Cashdan wondered why most women

exhibit a significantly higher ratio.

That's where the hormones come in.

A little testosterone

Androgens, a class of hormones that includes

testosterone, increase waist-to-hip ratios in women by

increasing visceral fat, which is carried around the waist.

But on the upside, increased androgen levels are also

associated with increased strength, stamina and

competitiveness. Cortisol, a hormone that helps the body

deal with stressful situations, also increases fat carried

around the waist.

Hormone levels linked with a high waist-to-hip ratio could

lead to such health benefits, which would be particularly

useful during times of stress, Cashdan said. These

benefits could outweigh those attained from having the

tiny waist, hourglass figure, she said.

Perhaps the differences between predominant body

shapes in some societies have to do with sexual equality,

Cashdan said.

In Japan, Greece and Portugal, where women tend to be

less economically independent, men place a higher value

on a mate's thin waist than men in Britain or Denmark,

where there tends to be more sexual equality, Cashdan

said. And in some non-Western societies where food is

scarce and women bear the responsibility for finding it,

men actually prefer larger waist-to-hip ratios.

"Waist-to-hip ratio may indeed be a useful signal to men,

then, but whether men prefer a [waist-to-hip ratio]

associated with lower or higher androgen/estrogen ratios

(or value them equally) should depend on the degree to

which they want their mates to be strong, tough,

economically successful and politically competitive,"

Cashdan writes.

She added, "And from a woman's perspective, men's

preferences are not the only thing that matters."

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20081203/sc_livescience/bestfemalefigurenotanhourglass;_ylt=Aq4dGIct3Qa0p8TRajRslBEbr7sF