We did not discover gunpowder by recognizing that physical attraction is a very important part of future sexual experiences. However, how does our height and physique affect our chances of having lovers? A study from Clemson University in South Carolina (USA) wanted to find out if indeed our body size was somehow related to this number .
The researchers surveyed 60,000 heterosexual men and women specifying their weight, height, and the number of sexual partners they had so far. The participants were subsequently divided into 6 categories, starting from the lowest (1.58 cm in men and 1.25 cm in women) to the highest (1.98 cm or more in men and 1, 82 cm or more in women).
Once the results were analyzed, they partially confirmed various social stereotypes: first, tall men are the most attractive to women and also the ones who link the most ; second, shorter men are the least attractive and therefore the least flirtatious. Regarding the heights far from the extremes, the results were not conclusive and there was little variation in the number of sexual partners according to the different heights.
“ Research has repeatedly shown that women prefer men who are slightly taller than they are. It is possible that for most women there is a certain minimum height threshold , after which a man will be considered as a potential sexual partner, and therefore men above that height will end up with a similar number of sexual partners, ”explains David Frederick, study leader.
Regarding the body mass index (BMI), men who were in the normal weight range or overweight showed a higher percentage of sexual partners than those grouped in the obese and lean groups, being overweight men those who greater number of sexual partners presented .
For women, the only consistent association was that extremely short women had far fewer sexual partners than any other woman. Regarding weight, the BMI did not stand out in particular. Being underweight, normal, overweight, or obese did not show any notable association in the number of sexual partners .
The study has been published in the journal Evolutionary Psychology .
