As one walks down the street, casually observing people, he/she can automatically decide who is attractive, who is not and to what degree. Truly amazing. But what makes someone physically attractive? Countless studies have been done on this topic, with interesting results. Studies involving attractive bodies have all yielded similar results, as have studies of facial symmetry. The results showed that all people, regardless of age agree on what is attractive in the opposite sex. Physical attractiveness is very important from an evolutionary standpoint.

             Think of Twiggy, Marilyn Monroe, and Cindy Crawford. Very different body types, but all attractive to their generation. Whether "thin is in" or not, one thing remains constant; the waist/hip ratio. Waist/hip ratio is the measure comparing the difference between the waist and the hip. Waist/hip ratio seems to be one of the most important factors in measuring female attractiveness.

             A study of Playboy centerfolds and Miss America winners at The University of Texas showed that regardless of their weight, their waist/hip ratio was between .67 and .72, with an average of .70. The same group of scientists conducted a survey of a large group of men, aged twenty-five to eighty five to rate drawings of different waist/hip ratios. The largest portion of the group selected women with a waist/hip ratio of .70 as the most attractive. Is this because of media conditioning on the part of television and magazines or is there evolutionary significance? To find out, researchers turned to the amazon jungle, where the natives have had very little contact with western culture. In one study, the natives had been introduced to the bible by missionaries, but had had no other contact with foreigners. The men of the tribes showed the same preference for a waist/hip ratio of around .70. Most of the men produced a similar explanation for this preference; they chose the pictures of women who could be most successful in bearing a large number of offspring:.