After all, what kind of men do women prefer?

Are you the type of woman who likes ripped, muscular men who, when they hug you, make you feel like you’re completely protected in the midst of that mountain of flesh? Well, know that there is a large portion of the female population that does not think this type of man is so perfect. Some are even capable of running away when such a boy approaches. Believe it or not, according to a survey, women prefer chubby men.

Appearance is unconsciously linked to health

At first, the characteristics of the “macho” would be potentially attractive to women, because they indicate a high level of testosterone in the male organism. Theoretically, women would be attracted to muscular men because they associate their physical characteristics with high virility.

However, recent research, carried out at the University of Pretoria, in South Africa, indicates that women actually judge more whether a man is fat or thin than whether he is physically “manly” or not. According to the study’s lead author, postdoctoral scientist Vinet Coetzee, fat “is an obvious choice as an immunity meter, because of its strong association with health and immunity.”

Of course, this association is not correct, since overweight people are not always healthier. Obesity is one of the main factors responsible for heart disease, for example. Likewise, those who are excessively thin can have problems such as low immunity and a lack of certain essential nutrients.

The search

The research led by Coetzee was quite broad. First, she and her assistants photographed 69 men wearing only their underwear, who also had their fat and testosterone levels measured. Then the researchers measured the volunteers’ immune system response by giving them a hepatitis B vaccine.

Subsequently, a group of 29 women was instructed to look separately at photographs of the faces and bodies of these men, classifying them according to the level of attraction they felt for them. Finally, a group of 20 other men and women rated the photographs according to masculinity, while a third group, made up only of women, evaluated the facial fat present in the volunteers.

The results were revealing. Both facial and body fat were directly linked to attractiveness and good immune system responses. Masculinity, in turn, was not linked to any of these items, according to the responses collected.

Likewise, testosterone was linked more to the volunteers’ weight than to their masculinity. “We found that a man’s weight serves as a better indicator of a good immune system than masculinity. Therefore, women are more likely to use weight, rather than masculinity, in their subconscious judgments of a man’s immunity,” explains Coetzee.

While physical characteristics cannot be used as a basis for health judgments, Dr. Coetzee, some women will insist that men whose abs allow them to count their muscles look vastly more attractive than men who use their bellies as a beer tank.