London, May 31 (IANS) Women who lose weight seem to entice men more easily than their peers who have always stayed slim, a study says.
However, men see heavier women in a positive light, as being more friendly, approachable and emotionally stable than the thin ones.
Women, perhaps annoyed by the extra competition, view former overweight girls in a negative light, and see them as undisciplined, emotionally unstable and even unhygienic.
The findings emerged from a study by a team at the University of Liverpool led by Jason Halford.
Halford presented 106 young men and 96 women with a picture of a young attractive female accompanied by a short biography.
They were all identical, except for the past history of weight control, the Telegraph reports.
Roughly half the biographies showed the pictured woman had maintained the same weight all her life, while others said she used to weigh 16 stones and had a dress size of 24.
The participants were then asked to judge the woman on a ‘Fat Phobia Scale’, to evaluate what they thought of her.
Women volunteers continued to see the former fat woman in a negative light compared to other females – considering her undisciplined, lazy and unappealing, as well as grouchy and unhygienic.
But men saw her in a positive way, considering her to be more friendly, approachable, clever and creative than her constantly thin counterparts.
Halford said: ‘Some of the men quite liked the fact she had a weight history. They seemed to feel she was more approachable. She is not perfect. She is flawed.’
