Abstract
This paper explores the relative contributions of waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and body mass index (BMI) to ratings of female physical attractiveness. Computer-altered photographic stimuli representing three levels of WHR (low, 0.66; average, 0.72; high, 0.78) and three levels of BMI (underweight, 17.0; average weight, 22.6; overweight, 28.2) were presented to university students in both between and within subjects designs. The manipulations of WHR and BMI were based on normative data such that the strength of manipulation was equivalent for the two independent variables. Thinner models were consistently judged to be more attractive, while WHR impacted attractiveness ratings only for the within subjects design, where a BMI × WHR interaction was found. A lower WHR was only preferred when paired with a low or average body weight. Thus, this research suggests that when manipulated equivalently, BMI plays a greater role in perceptions of female physical attractiveness than WHR, consistent with sociocultural theories of attractiveness in Western culture. Evolutionary theories emphasizing the role of WHR also received some support, however, indicating that when figures are viewed simultaneously, lower WHRs are preferred for thinner bodies.
Notes
Although from an evolutionary perspective, male ratings of female physical attractiveness are of primary interest, past research has indicated remarkable consistency in the pattern of ratings across genders, suggesting that women and men judge attractiveness similarly.