It’s a good day for the “dad bod.” According to a new study, this body type tops the list of what women find most attractive.
Forget rock-hard abs and ultra-lean frames — researchers have discovered that a “dad bod,” with its softer curves and a bit of extra padding, is actually the ideal of male attractiveness.
The study, conducted by researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and published in Personality and Individual Differences, offered possible reasons why this physique is so appealing.
Study details
The research involved 283 participants from China, Lithuania, and the UK. Each participant viewed 15 black-and-white photos of men with different body mass indexes (BMIs), with faces blurred to keep the focus on body shape alone.
BMI — a calculation based on height and weight — classifies people as underweight, healthy, overweight, or obese. The photos showed men with BMIs ranging from 20.1 to 33.7. Participants then ranked the images from least to most attractive.
The results revealed that male bodies with a BMI between 23 and 27 were rated most appealing. Specifically, the study identified peak attractiveness at a BMI of 23.4 in China, 23.0 in Lithuania, and 26.6 in the UK.
For comparison, Australia considers a “healthy” BMI between 18.5 and 24.9, with 25 to 29.9 classed as “overweight.” This means the most attractive male bodies weren’t those that were slim or highly muscular, but those carrying a few extra pounds.
Why is the dad bod attractive?
While the physical findings were intriguing, researchers were even more interested in the reason behind them.
“Body fat (adiposity) may matter because it’s inversely linked to circulating testosterone levels and therefore a better indicator of mate ‘quality,’” they explained. In other words, a moderate BMI supports optimal survival and reproductive fitness.
“The most attractive BMI in males was close to the predicted level maximizing survival,” the study noted.
So if you’ve been skipping the gym in favor of the occasional beer and schnitzel, science might actually be on your side.
However, the same does not hold true for women.
Previous studies found that men tend to rate women who are thinner than the “evolutionary optimum” as more attractive. While women may choose partners partly for their evolutionary advantages, men largely prioritize appearance.
