Another reason why men love curvy women

Why men love curvy women – and it's not just a physical thing

IT'S WELL-KNOWN that men love women with a shapely hourglass figure, but an academic study shows the appeal is more than physical.

Along with a longer life-expectancy, curvy women are also cleverer, says a new study published this week.

Scientists at the University of California at Santa Barbara and the University of Pittsburgh suggest that men find curvy women more attractive because they are more intelligent and, therefore, produce more intelligent children than waif-like and apple-shaped women.

Research on 16,000 women found that those with a greater difference between their waist and hip measurements scored significantly higher in tests, as did their children.

They found that a woman's hips and thighs contained omega-3 fatty acids, which help nurture both mother and baby's brains during pregnancy. Fat around the waist, however, contains higher levels of omega-6 fatty acids, which does not help brain growth.

Researcher, Steven Gaulin, of the University of California at Santa Barbara, explained: 'Shapely hips and thighs hold essential nutrients that nurse brains and could produce smart kids, too.'

His colleague, William Lassek, from the University of Pittsburgh, said: 'Men respond because it's reproductively important.'