Women and Attraction: Change your Perception in 60 Seconds

In today's world, men and women alike are constantly being bombarded with images of what's considered attractive in society, and for the female form in particular, certain individuals may struggle with what is considered an acceptable body image.

A recent study looks at how simply viewing perceptions of attractiveness can greatly alter perceptions of beauty in a matter of seconds. In fact, looking at unrealistic images of female  models may greatly hinder self-esteem in one's own body and cause symptoms of depression.

Researchers from the University of Nottingham Campus in Malaysia recruited 95 college-aged subjects (46 men, 49 women) and split them evenly into four groups, meanwhile exposing them to 12 images of the female body for a period of five seconds.

One group was exposed to images of plus-size models who rated them as highly attractive, while another viewed them as less attractive. However, another group viewed light-weight models as highly attractive and vice versa. Participants then viewed images of women whose Body Mass Indexes (BMI) had been subtly altered in each photo, asking each participant group which was most attractive.

Though men did not show much difference towards rating the female's attractiveness, women viewed lighter subjects as more attractive. What was even more concerning was that models with a BMI of slightly less than 17 were the ones viewed as the most attractive by many women.

As this is an unhealthy weight for women, the study shows a disturbing message about our society and perceptions of beauty.

What do you think?

More information regarding the study can be found via the journal PLOS One.