Skip The Gym, Get The Facial

A new study performed by the University of Western Australia finds that faces are more valuable than bodies for overall atractiveness.  The participants, though severely limited in sample size, were asked to view photos varying in shot content from facial portraits to full body shots.

They found that faces account for more of the variation among ratings than do bodies; in other words, faces are more important. For women rating men, 52 per cent of the attractiveness score was made up by the face rating, while for bodies it was 24 per cent. The trend was similar when men rated women, with 47 per cent of a woman’s overall attractiveness accounted for by her face, and 32 per cent by her body (Animal Behaviour, DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2006.07.012).

Even more interesting is the conclusion that is drawn.

Peters says that women focus especially on the face because they are better at picking up emotional cues which are key to partner suitability.

True that.  Read the article at new scientist.