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News you can misuse is a beautiful thing. Take this study that the UK's Times reported as "Curvy women are cleverer too" in November 2007. At CNN this weekend, the lead for this same story suggests that curvier women may take comfort in this research and not torture themselves with weight loss resolutions for the new year. Its tag is the study suggests "curvier women are smarter and have smarter kids too." Do you believe this stuff?
I've been considered curvy at various points in my life, hips one size larger than blouse size. You know what I mean--you try on a pair of jeans that fit your thighs and hips but the waist is too big.
Those days may be long gone for me because in the last few years my waist has lost some of its side swerve. My waist-to-hip ratio is not as low as it once was, which causes me to wonder, as have some others commenting on this research, is this study saying I get dumber when I gain weight around waist?" (Just kidding. I didn't seriously wonder that.) The answer to that question is no. Weight gain in the waist is associated with a high risk for diabetes, and if I don't get a grip on that type of weight gain I may be in trouble.
This latest research that suggests curvy=smart was published in Evolution and Human Behavior, and when I saw the CNN story I laughed. Puhleese! Big hips and thighs linked to being smarter? It sounded ludicrous at first glance.
Also, the visuals in the CNN video are misleading. Watching that video and reading around you'd might be inclined to believe curvy women includes any overweight woman, but that's not really what the study's saying. The research emphasizes waist-to-hip ratio.
In effect, says the study of some 16,000 women, the smaller your waist and bigger your hips, the smarter you are.
And, McGinnis points out, there's a formula: Divide waist circumference by hip circumference. The lower the result, the better.
For instance, notes McGinnis, Jennifer Lopez's waist measures 26 inches, her hips, 39 -- for a waist-to-hip ratio of .66. The less curvy Keira Knightley's waist is 25 inches, and her hips, 33, for a ratio of .76.
The researchers say it has to do with omega-3 fatty acids, which gather around fuller hips and thighs, and are important for the growth of the brain during pregnancy. The curvier the hips, the higher the level of omega-3s.
Hmm. Could this explain why my narrow-waisted, big-hipped daughter is so bright? As I said, I once fell into this category, sort of, but not as much as my daughter.
Ah, it would be nice if life's answers were that easy. I don't think that's what the study is really saying, that you're automatically smarter if you're curvy, but reporters are spinning it that way in their leads.
However, the CNN video ends saying that the real point of this study is that certain fatty acids are important and that pregnant women should consume foods high in Omega 3, like salmon, if they want to promote the best brain growth in their unborn children. Moral of the story: Go for the tuna not the donut. What else is new?
Other articles say the research may explain why men are more attracted to women with hour-glass figures. I didn't know that the idea that most men are attracted to curvy women, women with a .7 or less waist-to-hip ratio, was a mystery we needed to solve. It's information that's still reported as news that I remember hearing twenty years ago, but since I'm not dating these days or seeking a mate, I may be less sensitive to how this research may impact the self-esteem of women with hourglass figures who are dating.
Although these theories await confirmation, Paula Hall, a sexual and relationship psychologist with Relate, said: "Having research that proves you can be sexy and intelligent is really positive. It shows that curvy women may be better at things other than raising children and doing cooking and housework." (Times)
I recall in my younger years that when a man assumed I was an idiot I figured he was sexist in general. It didn't cross my mind that my figure type
