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Best Female Figure Not an Hourglass
www.livescience.com ^

Posted on 12/03/2008 8:36:45 AM PST by Lucky9teen

An imperfect body might be just what the doctor ordered for women and key to their economic success, an anthropologist now says.

While pop culture seems to worship the hourglass figure for females, with a tiny waist, big boobs and curvy hips à la Marilyn Monroe, this may not be optimal, says Elizabeth Cashdan of the University of Utah.

That's because the hormones that make women physically stronger, more competitive and better able to deal with stress also tend to redistribute fat from the hips to the waist.

So in societies and situations where women are under pressure to procure resources and otherwise bring home the bacon, they may be less likely to have the classic hourglass figure, Cashdan hypothesizes in the December issue of the journal Current Anthropology.

Curve crazy

Until now, scientists (and apparently Western society) thought a curvy figure trumped other body shapes. The idea was based on results from medical studies that suggested a curvy waist-to-hip ratio of 0.7 or lower (meaning the waist is significantly narrower than the hips) is associated with higher fertility and lower rates of chronic disease.

In addition, past research has revealed that men prefer a ratio of 0.7 or lower when looking for a mate. The preference makes perfect sense, according to evolutionary psychologists, because the low ratio is a reliable signal of a healthy, fertile woman. Along those lines, Playboy centerfolds tend to have a waist-to-hip ratio of 0.68, Cashdan found.

However, women around the world tend to have larger waist-to-hip ratios (more cylindrical than hourglass-shaped) than is considered optimal by these medical and social standards.

(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...


TOPICS: Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: anthropologist; anthropology; culturewar; currentanthropology; damnedintellectuals; elizabethcashdan; female; feminism; figure; sociologist
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To: Mr. K

Yeah she might be hot, but her picture is smarter than she is.


101 posted on 12/03/2008 9:38:27 AM PST by mountn man (The pleasure you get from life, is equal to the attitude you put into it.)
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To: Lucky9teen

That’s because the men who run the fashion industry are mostly homosexuals who think 14-year-old boys are sexy.


102 posted on 12/03/2008 9:40:17 AM PST by ccmay (Too much Law; not enough Order.)
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To: Jim Noble
T&A, on the other hand, are in it for the long haul.

Amen.....I don't think we need to do a "study" to agree with that.
103 posted on 12/03/2008 9:41:36 AM PST by domeika
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To: jwparkerjr
Here is the AC/DC version:

Whole Lotta Rosie

I wanna tell you a story 'bout a woman I know When it comes to lovin' Oh, she steals the show She ain't exactly pretty Ain't exaclty small 42-39-56 You can say she's got it all

Never had a woman Never had a woman like you Doin' all the things Doin' all the things you do Ain't no fairy story Ain't no skin and bone But you give it all you got Weighin' in at nineteen stone

You're a whole lot of woman A whole lot of woman Whole lotta Rosie You're a whole lotta woman

Oh honey you can do it Do it to me all night long Only one that turns Only one that turns me on All through the night-time Right around the clock To my surprise Rosie never stops

You're a whole lot of woman A whole lot of woman Whole lotta Rosie You're a whole lotta woman

104 posted on 12/03/2008 9:41:46 AM PST by Captain Beyond (The Hammer of the gods! (Just a cool line from a Led Zep song))
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To: Lucky9teen
Most want a woman with a bit of "meat" on her, something they can grab on to.

Well, let's not get carried away either. Anna Nicole at her best was a voluptuous and extremely beautiful woman. At her heaviest, it was rather too much even for full-figure lovers such as myself.

105 posted on 12/03/2008 9:44:05 AM PST by ccmay (Too much Law; not enough Order.)
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To: Mr. K

who killed jessica simpson and propped up her corpse?


106 posted on 12/03/2008 9:45:06 AM PST by ari-freedom (Conservatives solve problems. Libertarians ignore problems. Liberals create problems.)
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To: ccmay
"That’s because the men who run the fashion industry are mostly homosexuals who think 14-year-old boys are sexy."

Mega - Truth !!

107 posted on 12/03/2008 9:46:03 AM PST by editor-surveyor (Obama - not just an empty suit - - A Suit Bomb invading the White House)
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To: Bobalu

108 posted on 12/03/2008 9:46:08 AM PST by ari-freedom (Conservatives solve problems. Libertarians ignore problems. Liberals create problems.)
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To: Lucky9teen

109 posted on 12/03/2008 9:46:30 AM PST by McGruff
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To: Lucky9teen

Just another feel-good message that’s it’s okay to be fat.


110 posted on 12/03/2008 9:48:27 AM PST by Old Professer (The critic writes with rapier pen, dips it twice, then writes again.)
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To: ccmay

Aint that the truth...blughghchhh


111 posted on 12/03/2008 9:50:08 AM PST by Lucky9teen (The only foes that threaten America r the enemies at home; ignorance, superstition and incompetence!)
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To: dragonblustar

King Impersonator with camel toe...yick


112 posted on 12/03/2008 9:50:53 AM PST by Secret Agent Man (I'd like to tell you, but then I'd have to kill you.)
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To: freebilly

What this study does NOT tell you, is that women who are stressed out, under the gun to provide and take care of the family, DON’T HAVE A LOT OF TIME (or energy for that matter), to do what it takes to be perfectly physically fit.

Just speaking from experience....


113 posted on 12/03/2008 9:51:41 AM PST by Lucky9teen (The only foes that threaten America r the enemies at home; ignorance, superstition and incompetence!)
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To: ccmay

true....at her heaviest she was not very attractive...but the same can be said about her after she lost all the weight too, imo, she looked scary and way too thin.


114 posted on 12/03/2008 9:53:59 AM PST by Lucky9teen (The only foes that threaten America r the enemies at home; ignorance, superstition and incompetence!)
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To: Lucky9teen
I think Kate Winslet has got it going just about right.


Very cool that such a naturally beautiful woman with a real woman's figure can be such a big star without having to starve herself to look like a skeleton. There's a lot of other less self-confident actresses who I would rather see carrying an extra fifteen or twenty and looking like Kate.

-ccm

115 posted on 12/03/2008 9:58:04 AM PST by ccmay (Too much Law; not enough Order.)
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To: Lucky9teen

Watch for Playboy to soon begin featuring models built like Rosie O’Donnell in the centerfold.


116 posted on 12/03/2008 9:58:17 AM PST by E. Cartman (If Citigroup is too big to let fail, then break it up.)
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To: Lucky9teen
Sorry, I don't buy that. I, as a male, leave the house at 6:15am and get home at 6:00pm or after. I still work out daily. My wife works 8 hours and still works out each day. It's about making health and fitness a priority.

Don't have enough energy? Start getting in shape. You'll be amazed how much energy you have with as little as 30-45 minutes of working out each day....

117 posted on 12/03/2008 10:03:39 AM PST by freebilly
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To: freebilly

good for you then.


118 posted on 12/03/2008 10:12:40 AM PST by Lucky9teen (The only foes that threaten America r the enemies at home; ignorance, superstition and incompetence!)
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To: freebilly

Oh, and do you have 4 kids, of which one is a teen, 2 are toddlers and one is an infant, that you have to wash, dress, feed, help with homework, take to daycare/school, pick up from said places, drive to school/other activities, make dinner, do housework, etc. etc etc.

Spare me.


119 posted on 12/03/2008 10:15:00 AM PST by Lucky9teen (The only foes that threaten America r the enemies at home; ignorance, superstition and incompetence!)
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To: Lucky9teen

I’ll go with the hourglass. Leave it to “scientists” to contradict common sense.


120 posted on 12/03/2008 10:15:34 AM PST by Aquinasfan (When you find "Sola Scriptura" in the Bible, let me know)
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