Two British researchers have published a study suggesting that hunger may relate to how men perceive different female body types, BBC News reports. The researchers surveyed 61 male college students coming and going from a university dining hall, first asking them how hungry they were and then asking them to rate a series of photographs of similarly dressed women of varying weights and body types. The half of the group that said they were hungry rated heavier women as more attractive, according to the abstract of the study, which appears in the British Journal of Psychology. The researchers now plan on reversing the study to see how hunger affects female perception of male body types.Do hungry men prefer heavier women?
Two British researchers have published a study suggesting that hunger may relate to how men perceive different female body types, BBC News reports. The researchers surveyed 61 male college students coming and going from a university dining hall, first asking them how hungry they were and then asking them to rate a series of photographs of similarly dressed women of varying weights and body types. The half of the group that said they were hungry rated heavier women as more attractive, according to the abstract of the study, which appears in the British Journal of Psychology. The researchers now plan on reversing the study to see how hunger affects female perception of male body types.Comments [124]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 7)
38-02-2006 @ 10:07PM
Angela Pitt said...
You know what the saying is; the way to a man's heart
is through his stomach. If the girlfriend is on the
heavy side, chances are she might keep her man-if she dosn't mind sharing her gourmet vittles.
4I, for one, like to eat. I am not fat, obese, nor overweight, but just about the right height to weight ratio as endorsed by the Doctors and health experts - I guess. I am 5'9", and I weight around 165 lbs.
But I love to eat. And the thing is, my woman has to enjoy eating too. And not just little morsels, nibbling at a couple of pieces of carrots, but I mean 3 square meals a day, and at least a proper 5 course meal for dinner.
I am not attracted to women who want to look thin like a model, so they don't eat much at all. In fact, in general, these girls' skin looks poorly and so do their hair, and are mostly very uninteresting people, those ones who do not enjoy eating. Or, may be I find them to be dull because they do not enjoy food.
Of course, one must know how to eat properly and to take their time eating, and also to remember to enjoy that time and get some good walking done after the meal to let it all digest - not one of them short walks back to the car, but a proper walk around the town, enjoying the sights sort of a walk.
I still remember the night when I was in Milan, Italy, as I sat a trattoria with my father. It was a week day, and when we looked over to the table next to us, 2 ladies, not more 5'5", slim, in their early 30's who sat down after a long day's work, and ordered quite a hefty amount of food. 2 bottles of one red and one white, an anti-pasto plate, then came a large bowl of spaghetti which they shared, then came 2 huge slabs of steaks with all the trimmings of roasted potatoes, then they ate a salad, and after a break they dug in to the cheeses and the desserts with the coffee and liquer at the end to finish it off. Suffice it to say, my father and I were stunned, as these women were slim and great-looking in their suits, wouldn't put their cigarettes down while they ate, and yet finished all of the food. Granted, it took over 2 hours, as we also sat there taking our time with our food too, but it was an amazing sight. I wanted to go home with them both. I would have had a field day with them ladies!
So I enjoy a variety of foods too - I have no food hang-ups, as it were, and am almost eating something different at every meal. I really enjoy myself like that - and so when what I look for in a woman is someone with whom I can sit at a table and take our time enjoying each other as well as the food. And lucky for me I have one like that!
58-03-2006 @ 3:43AM
FatKatLuvr said...
This study is "hogwash", for lack of a better word.Ok people let's get down to the nitty-gritty and be for real. Fat attraction is simply that, an attraction , very much like someone being attracted to "red-heads" or "blondes". How do I know this? Because I am a genuine 100% Fat Admirer or F.A. of the first order and a "chubbychaser" as well. I've been attracted to large women and large men (350-500lbs.) all my life , I have never been with a "small" or "thin" woman ever, and I don't want to be. I've never been attracted to thin women. People like me, men and women who are attracted to larger individuals, basicly find them more appealing. For some of us it is a very innate attraction, while others gain this attraction through the trials and errors of "searching for the one". To put it plainly, I find fat women, large women,supersize or ultrasize women , more appealing because they represent the feminine form in all it's glory.Ample, abundant, and ripe. My attraction to large men stems from that same attraction, it's about the similarities in form (bellies,legs,chests,buttocks, in some) not the genitals.
The thing that gets me is that other people want to say that large people are "out of shape". But that's not so, being an artist myself, if you really think about it large people are really "full of shape".
There is no "one" reason for this attraction. But this study is really way in left field from the truth. And before you ask,no my mother isn't a large woman, she's 5'5", 115-120lbs., a petite lady. My attraction doesn't stem from some mental condition connected to my childhood. Although, I will say that I do know that my attraction to both heavyset women and heavyset men is in some ways connected to the television show "HEE-HAW". I came to that realization about three years ago. I'm 36 yrs. old. My attraction to large men didn't surface until I was 16 yrs. old, my attraction to large women was always apparent to me.
Hungry or not, I'm attracted to heavier women simply because I am. Large women are women (of a high weight) and not "clinical case studies". What should be put under study is why in a so called civilized world do we allow people to be so uncivilized to each other. The discrimination of fat people is the last
"safe prejudice" and should be stopped. Being rude and cruel is not a matter of opinion it's a matter of not treating each other in a respectful and humane manner. The lack of basic manners has lost it's place in some of our lives. That's the real epidemic. Peace and tranquility be with you all.
68-03-2006 @ 8:17AM
Bill Harris said...
It is incredably obvious that being overweight is unhealthy. Our bodies suffer very much and with the huge amount of junk food we eat in the U.S. we are paying a terrible price. At 64 years of age and weighing 216 at 6'2" I feel better with every pound I loose. I am confused as to why there is even a question, extra weight is not healthy-please let's at least be honest about this reality.
78-04-2006 @ 6:26AM
FatKatLuvr said...
Okay. Let me clear up the "confused". You feel better because it's the way YOU feel. Each person's health is individually different and personal. What you feel may not be what someone else would feel. What is obvious is that a lot of manipulation has gone unchecked for the past 25 years. The diet industry has gone for a $10 million dollars a year (1980's)to a $25-$30 million dollars a year (late 1980's to early 1990's) to $45 million dollars a year (late 1990's) to $55.5-$60 BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR (2000 to current)industry. This did not occur because of any real increase in the number of large people in this country, it happened because of the early marketing tactics used in the 1980's catering to the baby boomers who were looking for ways to keep the natural progression of aging from hitting home. Naturally it was also successful in gaining the monetary attention of the generations that followed by employing new and more sensational "health scare tactics". The increase was boosted by the fashion gurus who saw a niche in selling their products as a sort of new "fountain of youth". The diet industry would reinvent itself to keep up with the fashion industry by offering "the magic pill". The medical forum jumped on the band wagon with it's "quick-fix" in the form of bariatric surgery (practiced since the 1950's) and it's eventual Frankensteinian offsprings:Lapband, Fobi Pouch,Stomach Stapling and Gastric bypass. Gastric bypass being a retooling of the aforementioned commonplace bariatric surgical procedure. One hand feeding the other so on and so forth.
Don't get me wrong there ARE sick people here but not for the reasons you've been led to believe. First of all let's get one myth out of the way. THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A DISEASE OR ILLNESS CAUSED BY BEING FAT.
Take it in slowly. Breathe deeply. Now wait, there's more. If you have an illness that is inherent, being fat will complicate it but it didn't cause it. Fact. Most people are led to believe that all fat people are sufferers of heart illnesses, breathing problems and arthritis but that is just not so. There are hundreds of thousands of "TRULY" fat people that work, exercise and are truly activity individuals trying to survive in a world that perceives them as diseased simply on the basis of their appearance.
Because that appearance has been "deemed" unacceptable by other individuals in powerful positions of social and economic influence, who stand to lose a whole lot of money if certain true facts were exposed to the general populance of this planet.
True facts such as that size does not denote the level of health. That the only amount of exercise any one person needs is at least 45 minutes of some cardiovascular activity,in order to get the blood circulating and heart pumping good. That eating a variety of foods and not excluding certain foods and only concentrating on only one food , will decrease a person's chance for developing diabetes. Although, this doen't apply to those born with diabetic conditions to start with and those with the chance of inherent diabetes can offset those chances by doing the above actions.
All of this can be achieved at ANY weight. It's not a matter of losing weight but instead it's a matter of being healthy no matter what an individual weighs. Fact: 99.9% of all diet programs fail after the first year. Why? Because a level of expectation has been set too high, that it's actually unrealistic to achieve and inhuman to function therein.I know what you going to say next:What about the epidemic?!
Simple. THERE IS NO EPIDEMIC. What?! Right, NO EPI-DEM-IC. Take another deep breathe. Exhale. Here's the gem: For the past 30 years doctors and scientist have tried to hint at that being fat was "like" a disease.Up until last year scientist had been trying their darnedest to figure out how to: 1.Find the "fat gene", 2.Find a way to control the fat gene or take it out altogether, and 3.Figure how it works and how it came to be at all. Well, they succeeded in finding the "fat gene". They tried to manipulate it by isolating certain chemicals found in the body (of lab mice) connected with the fat gene. Problems came up and it was determined that the chemical or chemicals were not to be tampered with because they were actually essential to the body and if tampered with, it would prove deadly. They worked with drug companies to create a number of "weight-loss" miracle pills that eventually panned out to be disasterous.While in the meantime,published reports would arise about how low-fat and low-carb intake would help. That bombed.
Ever since 9/11 haven't you seen how the number of new diet solutions have come and gone. Don't you look at the newspaper and see articles about how being fat is bad for you and then turn the page and there's an article saying that maybe being fat isn't as bad as they thought. This kind of back and forward switch-a-roo has been going on since the 1980's. It became worse after 9/11 because as the country became more depressed and obsesssed about attacks and the war abroad, the growing concerns about President Bush's abilities and actions came into question. What better way to shift public attention then to concentrate on physical appearances and so called "health concerns".
Every time the scientist failed at something about fat, there was a counter measure put in place in order to get the public's attention away from the war and other political issues by coming up with new data from seemingly "ghost studies" conducted. But these so called studies and statistics are not really accurate because a lot of them are conducted in only a cross section of the country namely the mid-west and then calculations are created by using census information in combination with demographic information and established past ethnic health background stereo-types or "markers". These so called statistics are then retooled whenever someome outside of the medical and scientific community reveals inconsistencies in the data. Haven't you noticed the increase in diet and weight loss surgery commercials after the whole "fen-phen" diet pill went bust. This was a major blow and they had to bounce back quickly,so they came up some new pills and a new theme "low-carb". The "low-carb" craze faded quicker then a gravy stain treated with SHOUT. So,another tactic was used rehashing the term BMI(body mas index, established during the 1950's) and deciding to redesign the old "height and weight charts" -(created by insurance companies back in the 1950's as a way not to give insurance to people of a higher weight range),they kept it going.Well, they had to add a new bonus round.Since they knew that people were getting fed up with all this back and forth they shouted- "YOUR CHILDREN ARE BECOMING FAT". The creation of a new wave of hysteria was born.
What I'm getting at is the percentage of fat people (adults and children)HAS NOT CHANGED IN THE LAST 15 YEARS. What HAS occurred is that in the last 6 years we have become more aware of fat people because they have been targeted not only by the diet,fashion,medical industries but by the increasing public indulgance for scandal and morbid "reality" entertainment.Because of our society's need for up to the minute information and increasing interest into the lives of perfect strangers, large people have become the unwitting "neo-sideshow".By changing what was once deemed the "middle-age spread" or even "baby fat" into the "OBESITY EPIDEMIC",it meant keeping the money rolling in. Now EVERYONE is "obese", except for the truly thin (deemed healthier simply because they are thin).
The "nail in the coffin" came last year when scientist announced "OBESITY IS A DISEASE". This was a sorry excuse for not being upfront and stating the simple truth:THE "FAT GENE" IS A NATURE OCCURRING GENE WITHIN THE HUMAN DNA STRAND AND CHROMOSONE SYSTEMS. IT IS A MULTIFACETED GENE EXPRESSING ITSELF IN SOME PEOPLE WHILE NOT DOING SO IN OTHERS. THERE ARE A MULTITUDE OF FACTORS THAT CAN SOMEHOW ACTIVATE THIS GENE TO EXPRESS ITSELF IN RADICAL WAYS THUS CAUSING HIGHER LEVELS OF "FATNESS" IN SOME PEOPLE.WE ARE UNABLE TO FIGURE OUT WHY. THE LEVEL OF FATNESS DOES NOT EQUATE TO THE LEVEL OF HEALTH THAT AN INDIVIDUAL MAY POSSESS. EACH PERSON IS DIFFERENT AND EACH PERSON'S LEVEL OF HEATLH SHOULD BE APPROACHED ACCORDINGLY.
So now we are in the time of "THE OBESITY EPIDEMIC", a time where anyone even five pounds over their "true weight" is concerned "overweight" and "OBESE"! Since last year's proclaimations, doctor's all across this country have been given free reign to cut up not only people who really may need weigh-loss surgery but also those who just want to fit into their old elementary school clothes. It's crazy. Oh, I'm sure you've seen all the shows where there's some "obese" man or woman stuck in their home and can't get out. Let me say that those are extreme cases and are simply put in the news to create sensationalism otherwise if it were a "thin"person trapped at home it wouldn't make the local news least of all the national news. Let's get back to some basic mindsets:Everyone is different. Just because a person fat doesn't make them unhealthy, nor does make them healthy. Health is relative time and habits.Let's try to truly aspire to be the country we claim to be, a country where diversity is respected and accepted. And what could be more diverse then thin people and large people,short people, tall people, mean people, and happy people. I think we need to work on more happy people then worrying about whether Mr. or Mrs.So & So wears a size 29 or a size 79. Respect the differences and know that a person's health is their personal business and making judgements based on physical appearance is petty. Just couple these comments with my previous comments in #5 and have a wonderful "healthier" life. FatLuvingly, FatKatLuvr
88-04-2006 @ 1:16PM
FatKatLuvr said...
CORRECTIONS: "concerned", I meant "considered".-
{So now we are in the time of "THE OBESITY EPIDEMIC", a time where anyone even five pounds over their "true weight" is CONSIDERED "overweight" and "OBESE"!}
I do apologize for some of the other misspelled words. I was typing faster than I was thinking. If that makes any sense. Thank you in advance for your understanding and patience.-FatKatLuvr
9Okay so I was reading this and it kind of made me feel better till I started reading the comments. When I was younger I was always the "fat girl" in High School. I look back now and realize I wasn't fat. I was shapely, I had developed way before any other girls had. I had big boobs and a big butt and thighs...I looked good though but even then I wasn't happy because of how other people perceived me. Now I'm very overweight, I don't sit around all day and eat junk or anything like that. I have a job, which by night is cleaning buildings and during the day I take care of my two children. I've been through the routine of working out for two to three hours a day killing myself at the gym and eating nothing in order to take in less calories so that I can burn the fat off...It didn't work. I was so dissappointed with it that it sent me into a tailspin of depression. Now I'm considering gastric bypass and I've already been to the doctor about it, I've been through the evaluations and all I'm waiting on is to hear the doctor to say that my insurance company has approved me. It's really sad that when I was younger, I thought I was fat because of what other people said about me...I had a horrible self image..and now when I look back on those pictures..I see this girl that was gorgeous..Now I look in the mirror..and I see this woman that is fat..and I know I'm fat. The scale says so, the mirror says so and most people that run into me say so. I don't know why I'm even putting this up here for all of you to see except that I want to vent my frustrations about how and what you say to a person. Peoples minds no matter how old or young are very impressionable, please be kind in what you say and only say something if you think it's important because of their health or for their self worth..don't be mean just to be mean..try actually caring about a person and how they might feel before you call someone a fatty or any other name. If you can't say something nice simply don't let those words pass your lips..
108-09-2006 @ 2:35PM
CharmedOneInPgh said...
FatKatLuvr.....I THINK YOU'RE AWESOME! :) I just want to say that you really have a tremendous amount of understanding about it all. It does amaze me that those who think that we "fat" people have all sorts of problems with our bodies, is amazing. I, for one, just had a complete line of bloodwork done and I came out 100% ok. My sugar is fine, cholesterol, etc..etc..etc...whatever it is that people think about fat people...it's wrong. They have a misconception that we "fat" people don't take care of ourselves. That we smell. That we dress horribly. That we can't "look" like we just came out of a "Fredericks of Hollywood" magazine or "GQ". Not every "fat" person has a hygiene problem!!! Yes, I admit, I have run into a few that don't take care of themselves in that manner, but that's not EVERYONE! It's NOT me either. I adore big men and women. The saying "there is more to love" is NOT a misconception. There really is more to love...inside and out. :) FatKatLuvr....you rock :)
11WOW, are you off the bandwagon? I am glad I am 5'6" tall and weigh 153 lbs. I have no idea but I am probably overweight. I am not skinny and my husband likes me the way I am. I stay that way because I do not eat sweets as much as I would like, and I eat meat and vegetables at noon, something light in the evening. I find this way of eating does not cause me to gain and lose and keeps me in good health. My family tends to be over weight according to the charts??? So I believe the answer is eat as well as one can and in moderation.
128-09-2006 @ 2:40PM
Hallodaz4us said...
Dear Fatcatluvr: After reading your researched synopsis of social prejudice of fat people; I can only applaud you, and simply say thank you. It is truly unfortunate that your truth will go only as far as this type set, posted in this bulletin. But I have thoroughly appreciated your knowledge and passion behind your research. Hopefully the ignorance of our culture will change, but I do not expect that to happen in our lifetime. Think how long it has taken for racial prejudices to evolve; you can visualize us standing before the noose under the maple tree; if you will.
Hallodaz4us
14This study may or may not be relevant. I do know that our society is absolutely obsessed with weight. And I find it very ironic that a country so obsessed with fat has a sheer determination to do everything possible to make us fatter. Look at the portion sizes in restaurants. It's enough to feed two or three people! It's ridiculous. Let me also say that "fat" is not always equivalent to "unhealthy". I'm significantly overweight. But I work out on the treadmill 45 minutes six days a week. My blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesteral and everything is normal. I rarely eat meat.....but more fruits, vegetables and beans. I'm fat because I tend to overeat at times of the things I do love.....and its something I'm working on. But I'm not unhealthy, and most men find me attractive....very curvaceous. My husband loves me the way I am........
15Well Im not sure where ya all are living in this world, but I am an over weight female and trying to find a job, a mate and a life isnt too easy when the world is looking for the Barbie dolls in this movie star/super model world in which we live. I had 2 kids, have been up and down the weight pole of life from 115 at 5'9 to 265...am currently at 230 and not happy with myself, but at least I know I am me and not a brush over photo of what Im suppose to be. Only one problem...I am still critized, laughed at and ridiculed because of it.
168-09-2006 @ 2:48PM
SexyThickGrrrl said...
Fat is the new smoking - it just something else for public health pundits to jump on. They can't stop people from drinking, doing drugs or smoking - so now they are on fat people, although there have been studies by endocrinology researchers that show dieting fat people's bodies think that it is in a state of starvation, which leads to plateaus and that eventual re-gain of weight.
The solution - stop listening to people who do nothing but parrot what comes out of the media - eat healthier foods, move your body and ignore the pontificating anti-fat patrol.
Oh, and while you're at it, let them know that a recent study shows that drinking a lot of water everyday does nothing for your health. It just makes you pee a lot. But it does make you look like a "health nut". LOL!!!
178-09-2006 @ 2:49PM
Marlene Berkovitz said...
Being very overweight is very destructive for women on an emotional level. She never feels pretty (I am talking about the many overweight women I know) and certainly never feels sexy. Men are attracted (from what I have ascertained,) with their eyes first and foremost. The woman could be charming, witty and even dress in the latest styles but if she is over their "weight scale" then she is a cow and not worth their effort. It is sad but true (unless you are a man who just likes fat women). Men treat a woman differently when she is thinner than if she is what they consider "fat". It really destroys a woman's self esteem.
188-09-2006 @ 2:49PM
Marlene Berkovitz said...
Being very overweight is very destructive for women on an emotional level. She never feels pretty (I am talking about the many overweight women I know) and certainly never feels sexy. Men are attracted (from what I have ascertained,) with their eyes first and foremost. The woman could be charming, witty and even dress in the latest styles but if she is over their "weight scale" then she is a cow and not worth their effort. It is sad but true (unless you are a man who just likes fat women). Men treat a woman differently when she is thinner than if she is what they consider "fat". It really destroys a woman's self esteem.
19I am a 20 yr old woman and I have struggled with my weight all of my life( well since food was something you had to think about before you ate it) and I have dated only a few men. I have been in a serious relationship with my boyfriend for over a year now and i have never felt more confidence in myself and my self image! I am 5'6 and I weigh 175 lbs. I work at a fitness center and I work out for 1 1/2 to 2 hrs a day five days a week. I am extremely healthy AND happy. Sure we all have our insecurities...mine is my weight BUT I have learned to accept it considering my boyfriend LOVES my 24' thighs! I'm a pear shape!My boyfriend DOES eat A LOT and he's 6'3" and 185lbs. So we're close in weight but I could outrun him anyday. I don't know if this study is true because of all of the gorgeous "thin" women he's dated before me. Just because he's always hungry doesn't mean he wants to snuggle me cause I'm heavy! I guess you could say society makes us "thicker" women underestimate ourselves. We tend to think we CANT have a decent guy because we're overweight and unattractive. That's why I laughed at my boyfriend when he first pursued me! He was just way to gorgeous for the girl called "meatloaf" in school....but I STILL have him! And he loves me exactly the way I am....whether he's hungry or not!
20Ok, as long as we're all confessing, I am 5'7" 110 lbs. There - satisfied? I have stopped weighing myself as of 1 month ago. I want to get away from this weight/body image hang-up that I and alot of other people have. There are SO many other things to concentrate on. I just hope I don't overeat!!!!!!!!
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