A new study suggests that the “dad bod” is losing its appeal among women, while men prefer curvier women.
Commissioned by SoloFun, an adult entertainment site, the study asked more than 2,000 participants to pick the physiques they found the most attractive after showing them side-by-side body-fat comparisons.
Those who were attracted to men overwhelmingly picked a muscular figure with around 15% body fat, similar to Jacob Elordi and Paul Mescal’s bodies.
Highlights
- A study published by SoloFun found that straight women prefer lean, athletic male bodies, while straight men prefer curvier female physiques.
- Participants were shown photos of people with varying levels of body fat.
- Results showed that “dad bods” and ultra-thin female bodies were not ranked as the most attractive.
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This means the “dad bods” like those of Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo were not favored. A male body-fat percentage of 20% ranked second, followed by 25%. The option ranked as the least attractive was 35% body fat.
In contrast, people attracted to women favored a softer, curvy look similar to Beyoncé’s figure, which is far from the ultra-thin bodies idealized on social media.
Women with 30% body fat were ranked as the hottest, followed by 25% body fat level and 45%.
Still, the comparisons based on body fat percentages should be taken with a grain of salt, as men and women naturally store body fat differently.
For instance, a man with 15% body fat could have an athletic look, but a woman at the same level could face hormonal issues.
A woman at 30% body fat can appear curvy and healthy, while a man at 30% would usually appear heavier.
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Athletic male physiques are favored due to their association with strength, health, and protection, experts said.
However, other studies point to straight women being more attracted to “dad bods.” A 2018 Planet Fitness poll found that 78% of women associated this body type with confidence. Plus, nearly half said they preferred a softer stomach to a six-pack.
Another 2021 poll by Dating.com found that nearly 75% of singles said they were more attracted to “dad bods,” meaning a figure that’s “not super chiseled.”
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“Only 15% of Dating.com members shared that they prefer a Barbie or Ken-like body type when it comes to a person of their desired gender,” the dating site states.
“Movies and TV shows tend to promote Barbie and Ken body types, giving people the idea that they need to look similar in order to find their match. We're happy to be able to confirm that is not how the real world actually operates,” noted Maria Sullivan, Vice President of Dating.com.
Even though “dad bods” were a highly ranked preference, more than 20% of respondents said body type doesn't matter when it comes to finding their significant other, stressing that personality is more important than looks.
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A separate 2022 study by the University of British Columbia revealed that people who are attracted to men prefer muscular shoulders and torsos, but only if the man is tall.
“Our results showed that women's perceptions of male attractiveness were influenced by, and interacted with, height and SHR (shoulder–to–hip ratio),” lead author Farid Pazhoohi told PsyPost.
In general, women prefer taller and broader-shouldered men, in particular when these two traits were presented in combination, the expert noted.
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For the study, the team recruited 659 straight women in the US aged between 18 and 83.
The women were tasked with viewing illustrations of male bodies with heights ranging from 5 feet 3 inches (160cm) to 6 feet 3 inches (190cm), and three degrees of SHR. Then, they were asked to rate their attractiveness.
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On the other hand, a 2018 study by the University of Western Australia found that the most important characteristic in a romantic partner is not looks or a sense of humor but intelligence.
At the same time, kindness and easygoingness were also ranked high by both men and women.
Interestingly, though, people do not want to date someone who is too intelligent or easygoing, researchers found.
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The 214 participants in the study were asked how attracted they would be to a potential partner who was more intelligent than 1 percent, 10 percent, 25 percent, 50 percent, 75 percent, 90 percent, and then 99 percent of the population.
Participants were also asked the same question about other personality traits (easygoingness and kindness) and about physical attractiveness.
Researchers found there was a statistically significant reduction in how attractive intelligence and easygoingness were rated at the 99th percentile compared to the 90th percentile.
Lead author Gilles Gignac said, "Previously published research suggests that elevated levels of intelligence may incite feelings of insecurity in some people, which may reduce desirability.
"Correspondingly, exceptional easygoingness may be viewed as an indication of a lack of confidence or ambition."
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Similarly, kindness and physical attractiveness plateaued at the 90th percentile.
“There (also) doesn’t appear to be any gain to being exceptionally kind or exceptionally physically attractive in the context of attracting a romantic partner,” Gignac noted.
