The Stunning Hour Glass Shape
What answer do you think I would get when I ask someone what they want to achieve via their dieting and slimming efforts? You guessed it. Almost everyone of them said, “To Lose Weight”. A very small percentage of people said “A Better Body”. Only an extremely small percentage of people said “A Lean and Well Defined Body”.
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Off course there are also a small group of people who do it for better health. This is limited to the baby boomers. Typically men over 40 and women over 50.The majority of the people do it for vanity.
So what is your objective for dieting and exercising?
A big reason for not being able to sustain weight loss is because it is the wrong prescription for the problem. What everyone is looking for is a beautiful and well defined body shape. Unfortunately we are brought up in a society that worships the weight scales. In Part 1, we discussed on why the weight scales and the BMI scales are not able to define a beautiful body.
We have always advocated fat loss instead of just weight loss. Losing fat while holding on to your muscles is Correct Weight Loss!
Correct Weight Loss results in a beautiful and well defined body.
So what should a beautiful and well defined body really look like. Ultimately, beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. It used to be difficult to verbalize and measure a well defined body but modern science has now made this possible.
Assessing the Beauty of a Woman’s Body
We have always advocated the hourglass shape as the ultimate that a woman can achieve from her weight loss efforts.
But as you may have noticed, the hourglass is an approximation of what should be aimed for. If the waist is too narrow in proportion to the hips, the attractiveness factor reduces. The waist size has to be just right.
The waist to hip ratio has been found by some researchers as a very good indicator of physical attractiveness for women. The waist to hip ratio or WHR is defined as the ratio of the waist circumference at the narrowest point to the hip circumference at the widest point.
The concept and significance of WHR as an indicator of attractiveness was first theorized by Dr. Devendra Singh at the University of Texas at Austin in 1993. For those looking for more information, read the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology “Adaptive significance of female physical attractiveness: Role of waist-to-hip ratio.“
Women With Shapely Bodies Have a WHR Close to 0.7
Venus de Milo has a WHR of 0.7
Some researchers have found that the waist-hip ratio (WHR) is a significant measure of female attractiveness. Women with a 0.7 WHR are usually rated as more attractive by men from European cultures. Such diverse beauty icons as Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, Sophia Loren, Jessica Alba, Salma Hayek and even the Venus de Milo all have or had ratios close to 0.7, even though they all have different weights and heights.
The 0.7 ratio apparently holds through even in different cultures. One thing to remember is that the measurement should be of the circumference and not a linear measurement from a photograph.
Women can use this as a benchmark for their weight loss efforts. They may not want to move to the ideal 0.7 but it gives a target to hit. Some women may be happy with a WHR of 0.8 while others may gun for the ultimate 0.7.
Do note that dieters will find it very difficult to hit the WHR of 0.7. A combination of exercise and proper nutrition is the ultimate sculpting tools for a curvy and sexy body.
Read Part 3 on How Science Defines a Beautiful Body for Men.
Tags: attractive woman’s body, attractive body, beautiful woman, beautiful women body, shapely body, hourglass shape, waist to hip ratio, WHR, defined body, weight loss, Venus de Milo, Salma Hayek, Jessica Alba, Marilyn Monroe, Sophia Loren
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Related Posts
- How To Accurately Measure a Beautiful/Attractive Body for Men and Women
- The Beautiful Body (Part 1) – Weight Scales and BMI Can't Measure a Beautiful Body
- How to Measure an Attractive Body for Men – Part 3
- The Waist to Hip Ratio for an Approximate Assessment of a Well Defined Body
- Jessica Alba or Nigella Lawson Type Curvy Body Preferred to Twiggy Type Straight Body
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This is a very enlightening info. women has been led to believe that beauty is equivalent to how thin they are.. the weighing scale is the ultimate judge. This blog helps to dispel this misinformation. a balance of weight training and cardio is the way to go..
A healthy lifestyle not only increases a person’s energy but it can also enhance their appearance.
You are absolutely right. Thanks for your comment.
Great article! We all desire that gorgeous body, and diet and lifestyle/exercise must go hand-in-hand. What a great way to keep it view – loose the pounds and look the part!
Thanks for the feedback Giselle.