Why stressed men prefer larger women

The lower legs of a woman and a man standing opposite each other - red is the unifying color (iStock)

Think thin women are your “type,” men?

That may change as your stress levels rise.

A new study from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, published in the journal Ethology, found that men undergoing high levels of stress find heavier women more attractive than their less-stressed cohort does.

Researchers at the university polled men going through grueling army cadet training, as well as those whose environments were unchanged and largely stress-free.

The study found that as the cadets’ stress level increased, they were more likely to rate heavier female faces highly. This is likely because women who appear heavier are better able to survive tough times — like a famine or war — and continue to reproduce, the study authors posit.

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