WHO says bigger is better? Traditional hunter-gatherers in Tanzania don鈥檛 consider height to be important when choosing a partner, in contrast to western women, who favour tall men.
Previous studies have shown that tall men are at an advantage when finding a mate: they are more likely to marry, and produce more offspring on average.
However, most of these findings are based on western data.
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Not convinced that these preferences are universal, of the London School of Economics and of Florida State University in Tallahassee studied partner choice in the . They looked at the height and weight of married couples, as well the number of marriages per person.
Out of 46 women questioned, only one said she preferred 鈥渂ig鈥� men, and neither sex was influenced by size in their choice of partner (Biology Letters, ).
In forager populations where food is scarce, being big might not be beneficial, says Sear. She suggests that height preferences are context-specific and while some mate preferences might be universal, it is 鈥渢ime to reassess our 鈥榖igger is better鈥� view of size鈥�.
