London – There are many things believed to make a woman more attractive in a man’s eyes – but a curved spine isn’t usually thought to be one of them.
However, researchers claim men are particularly attracted to a women with a back that curves exactly 45 degrees above the top of her bottom.
The findings provide a new explanation as to why voluptuous celebrities such as Kim Kardashian and Jennifer Lopez are considered to be so attractive, with extra mass around the buttocks enhancing the curvature of the spine.
Psychologist Dr David Lewis, who carried out the research at Bilkent University in Turkey, said: ‘It’s an independent and previously undiscovered standard of attractiveness.’
He said it is rooted in an evolutionary need for survival. The attribute would have helped a woman remain mobile while pregnant in early hunter-gatherer societies, allowing her to continue foraging for food and avoid health problems.
A 45-degree angle was optimal because it aided movement without causing back pain or putting women at risk of slipped discs, which can be caused by excessive spinal curvature.
In the study, published in the journal Evolution and Human Behaviour, 300 men were shown silhouettes of women with different angles of curvature and asked to rate the images according to attractiveness.
Most of the men were significantly more attracted to those with a spine curve of 45.5 degrees, the researchers found. So men who think they like big bottoms may actually be more into spines.
Dr Lewis added: ‘Men may be directing their attention to the butt and obtaining information about women’s spines, even if they are unaware that is what their minds are doing.’
Daily Mail