Large Breasts and Narrow Waists Indicate Fertility
January 31st, 2008
Researchers now claim that women with hourglass figures are more likely to become pregnant. It is a long felt belief that men have only one thing on their minds: a woman’s WHR - waist-hip ratio, calculated by dividing waist circumference by that of the hips. The Royal Society Journal has documented once again that what men find attractive today was also true hundreds of years ago: a narrow waist and thus an hourglass shape.
For every century, three body parts - breasts, waist and thighs - are more often referred to as beautiful than other body parts. Dr. Grazyna Jasienska, who led the study at Jagiellonian University, says that in Western societies, the cultural icon of Barbie as a symbol of female beauty seems to have some biological grounding.
“The team studied 119 Polish women aged between 24 and 37, who were not taking any kind of hormonal contraception or medication. Women who were extremely underweight or overweight were not included. Saliva samples taken from the women revealed that those with narrow waists and large breasts had on average 26 per cent higher levels of the hormone 17-b-estradiol, than women of other shapes. In the middle of their menstrual cycle, this peaked at 37 per cent higher levels than women in other groups.
Waist-to-hip ratio also had a strong effect on levels of another female hormone, progesterone. Researcher Dr. Jasienska, says that higher progesterone levels should also theoretically translate to increased fertility. However, large breast size was not significantly related to increased progesterone.”
It is easy to conclude that an hourglass shape in women is associated with relatively high levels of the hormone estrogen. Since estrogen levels influence fertility, men seeking to pass their genes to the next generation would do well to pick hourglass-shaped women. A sizeable belly is reliably linked to decreased estrogen, reduced fertility and increased risk for major diseases. Obesity is also a key predictor of cardiovascular disorders, diabetes II, various cancers (breast, ovarian and endometrial) and gall bladder disease.
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study which shows that women who have both a relatively narrow waist and large breasts have higher reproductive potential.
The author William Shenstone (1714–1763) writes:
“Health is beauty, and the most perfect health is the most perfect beauty.”
Narrow waist and hourglass shape - The American Barbie image!
The research says that this can lead to relatively high levels of the hormone estrogen. Maybe this is why breast cancer was thought to be more common in larger chested women? Too much estrogen can damage cells. But I lean towards the theory that girls with more curves usually eat fattier foods and this is the reason for the increased likely hood of breast cancer.
Lisa, from what we are reading these days, Barbie is going to have her curves reduced. Mattel is reshaping her figure and we are going to post an article about the current Barbie (for better or worse) transformation soon.
The hourglass figure the article talks about isn’t as extreme as Barbie. It simply means you have a visible waistline. The top and bottom can be big or small as long as the waist is noticeably smaller.
I guess you are right Maggie. Now that I think of it, an hour glass shape can be pronounced regardless of ones weight. I have the boobs, but no belly or rear end - so I don’t qualify as being “hour glass shaped.” My mother and her mother - and actually as far back as they can remember as well, have all had a bit of an hour glass shape. Genetics? Maybe.
I study diet and nutrition in college. It is well documented that obesity of the waist is dangerous to cardiovascular and skeletal health. It is understandable that a thicker mid-section would be less attractive for the opposite sex - thus hindering ones chances for reproductive capability.