一項新的研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，對稱的身體對男性和女性都更具吸引力,。此前的研究表明,，臉越對稱，觀察者也就認為其越美麗,，但是身體對稱和吸引力的關系尚不明確,。進化論預計非對稱的身體很可能是由于疾病或者艱難的環(huán)境造成的，因此一個身體形狀非對稱的伴侶可能不是一個好的選擇,。
William Brown及其同事利用了三維光學掃描儀創(chuàng)建了77名人類受試者的身體形狀的詳細圖像,，然后使用計算機生成中性色彩的沒有頭部的圖像，讓實驗參與者評價異性身體的吸引力的高低。男性和女性都報告說對稱的身體比非對稱的身體更具吸引力,。這組科學家利用數(shù)學分析還發(fā)現(xiàn)了一個稱為“身體男性度”的屬性,，即身高、肩寬,、胸窄和其他男性特征的組合,。實驗參與者指出了有吸引力的男性和女性與身體對稱性有關的類似的特征，他們認為身體男性度高的對稱的男性更具吸引力,，而身體男性度低的勻稱的女性也被認為更具吸引力,。相關論文發(fā)表在美國《國家科學院院刊》（PNAS）上。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦原始出處：
PNAS,，doi: 10.1073/pnas.0710420105,，William M. Brown，Hui Yu
Fluctuating asymmetry and preferences for sex-typical bodily characteristics
William M. Brown*,?,?, Michael E. Price*,?, Jinsheng Kang§, Nicholas Pound*,?, Yue Zhao§, and Hui Yu§
Abstract
Body size and shape seem to have been sexually selected in a variety of species, including humans, but little is known about what attractive bodies signal about underlying genotypic or phenotypic quality. A widely used indicator of phenotypic quality in evolutionary analyses is degree of symmetry (i.e., fluctuating asymmetry, FA) because it is a marker of developmental stability, which is defined as an organism's ability to develop toward an adaptive end-point despite perturbations during its ontogeny. Here we sought to establish whether attractive bodies signal low FA to observers, and, if so, which aspects of attractive bodies are most predictive of lower FA. We used a 3D optical body scanner to measure FA and to isolate size and shape characteristics in a sample of 77 individuals (40 males and 37 females). From the 3D body scan data, 360° videos were created that separated body shape from other aspects of visual appearance (e.g., skin color and facial features). These videos then were presented to 87 evaluators for attractiveness ratings. We found strong negative correlations between FA and bodily attractiveness in both sexes. Further, sex-typical body size and shape characteristics were rated as attractive and correlated negatively with FA. Finally, geometric morphometric analysis of joint configurations revealed that sex-typical joint configurations were associated with both perceived attractiveness and lower FA for male but not for female bodies. In sum, body size and shape seem to show evidence of sexual selection and indicate important information about the phenotypic quality of individuals.
