I know a lot of men who are insecure on the dating scene because they are on the shorter side of the male height spectrum.
If you are one of these men, don’t fret.
Physical Strength Determines Over 70% Of A Man’s Bodily Attractiveness
A new study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B confirms the long-time teachings of this site.
Here’s what the study found (emphasis mine):
Evolution equips sexually reproducing species with mate choice mechanisms that function to evaluate the reproductive consequences of mating with different individuals.
Indeed, evolutionary psychologists have shown that women’s mate choice mechanisms track many cues of men’s genetic quality and ability to invest resources in the woman and her offspring.
One variable that predicted both a man’s genetic quality and his ability to invest is the man’s formidability (i.e. fighting ability or resource holding power/potential). Modern women, therefore, should have mate choice mechanisms that respond to ancestral cues of a man’s fighting ability.
One crucial component of a man’s ability to fight is his upper body strength.
Here, we test how important physical strength is to men’s bodily attractiveness. Three sets of photographs of men’s bodies were shown to raters who estimated either their physical strength or their attractiveness. Estimates of physical strength determined over 70% of men’s bodily attractiveness. Additional analyses showed that tallness and leanness were also favoured, and, along with estimates of physical strength, accounted for 80% of men’s bodily attractiveness.
Contrary to popular theories of men’s physical attractiveness, there was no evidence of a nonlinear effect; the strongest men were the most attractive in all samples.
All Women Prefer Strong Men
The Griffith University website reveals further information about the study (emphasis mine):
Dr Aaron Sell from the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice said cues of upper body strength make a man attractive, including having wider shoulders, being physically fit and having greater handgrip strength.
“Evolutionary psychologists have shown that women’s mate choices use many cues of men’s genetic quality and ability to invest resources in the woman and her offspring,’’ he said.
“Among our ancestors, one variable that predicted both a man’s genetic quality and his ability to invest was the man’s formidability. Therefore, modern women should still have mate choice mechanisms that respond to cues of a man’s fighting ability.
“One crucial component of a man’s ability to fight was his upper body strength.”
In the study, the researchers tested how important physical strength is to men’s bodily attractiveness by showing women pictures of men’s bodies and asking them how attractive they were.
The results showed that it was possible to almost perfectly predict how attractive a man’s body is from three things: how physically strong he looks, how tall he is, and how lean he is. The effect of strength was so large that none of the 150 women in the study preferred weak men. Furthermore, looking strong was much more important for man’s attractiveness than being tall or lean.
“The rated strength of a male body accounts for a full 70% of the variance in attractiveness,’’ Dr Sell said.
“The effect of height and weight on attractiveness may indicate that women are responding to cues of health or to the benefits that height and lean bodies have in protracted aggression, hunting and other aspects of fighting ability.”
Dr Sell said while the women in their study preferred the strongest bodies, there was a sizeable dataset across many cultures that showed women did not always prefer the strongest looking faces.
Build Muscle And Rise To The Top, No Matter Your Height
A long time ago, I penned an article entitled What is The Ideal Male Body Type to Attract Women – An Athletic or a Muscular Build?
I concluded that the more muscular you are, the more attractive you are perceived by women.
I wrote two more articles entitled Do Girls Like Muscles? – 10 Ways Building Muscle Helps You Get Laid and Benefits of Strength Training Part 3 – Sex Benefits, showing you how building muscle can boost your sex life.
Now, science fully confirms what I have written.
Never be discouraged if you reside on the shorter side of the male height scale. Being muscular erases almost all of the disadvantages you may have in regards to attracting the opposite sex.
The study isn’t bad news for tall men either. Whether you are short or tall, visibly muscular men are rare.
Regardless of your height, building muscle will automatically put you in the top 1% of the attractiveness scale.
Besides, the benefits of building muscle are not limited to your attractiveness and sex life. Strength training boosts your health, self-esteem and has many other indirect benefits you may not recognize until you get muscular.
Build muscle, friends. You will never regret it.
Be sure to read:
- Ripped with Bodyweight Program, the ultimate bodyweight training program to get ripped fast.
- 20 Life-Changing Benefits of Having Six Pack Abs
- Building Strength and Muscle: Bodyweight Training (Calisthenics) vs Weightlifting
- 10 Truths About Building Muscle That Nobody Wants To Believe
- 10 Truths About Fitness That Nobody Wants To Believe