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Effect of Leg-to-Body Ratio on Body Shape Attractiveness

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Abstract

Recent studies have examined various aspects of human physical attractiveness. Attractiveness is considered an evolved psychological mechanism acquired via natural selection because an attractive body reflects an individual’s health and fertility. The length of the legs is an often-emphasized aspect of attractiveness and has been investigated using the leg-to-body ratio (LBR), which reflects nutritional status of the infant, health status, fecundity, and other factors that are predictive of physical fitness. However, previous studies of leg length and physical fitness have produced mixed results. The present study investigated the relationship between LBR, defined as the height to perineum divided by total height, and perceived attractiveness. Three-dimensional stimuli (11 male and 11 female) were constructed with various LBR features. Each stimulus was rated by 40 women and 40 men in Japan on a 7-point scale. The results showed that the values closest to the average LBRs were rated as the most attractive. Furthermore, by fitting a quadratic curve on the relationship between attractiveness and LBR, an inverted U-shaped curve with the peak located at the average LBR was observed. In addition, high LBR values were rated as more attractive in females, whereas the opposite was true for males. These results suggest that average LBR is indicative of good health and good reproductive potential, whereas more extreme values are avoided because they could be indicative of diseases and other maladaptive conditions.

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Acknowledgments

I am deeply grateful to Prof. Keita Ochi who provided helpful comments and suggestions. I am indebted to Prof. Keiichi Tajima, Prof. Yasunori Morishima, Dr. Erina Kai, and Dr. Kiyomitsu Niioka, whose comments greatly contributed to my study. I thank the referees and the Editor for carefully reading my article and for giving useful comments. Furthermore, I would like to thank Enago (www.enago.jp) and TEXT (text-edit.com) for the English language review.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Humanities, Hosei University, 2-17-1 Fujimi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 102-8160, Japan

    Satoru Kiire

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  1. Satoru Kiire
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Correspondence to Satoru Kiire.

Appendix: The 22 Images Used in This Study

Appendix: The 22 Images Used in This Study

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Kiire, S. Effect of Leg-to-Body Ratio on Body Shape Attractiveness. Arch Sex Behav 45, 901–910 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-015-0635-9

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