Why babies prefer flabby daddies

Babies' specs

Babies have long been known to favour attractive faces, but it would seem the youngest members of society have a wider definition of beauty than previously imagined.

For although having a pretty face appeals to babies, beautiful, slender bodies do not. Particularly when it comes to men.

Infants favour chubby men over slim ones because their bodies look female

Infants shown images of chubby and toned male figures displayed a marked preference for the fatter of the two, according to a study conducted by the University of Sheffield

not babies' specs

'Precisely when and how children develop preferences for adult-defined attractive bodies remains a question for future research.'

Explanations for the phenomenon included the prevalence of larger bodies in everyday life and the similarity of a tubby male physique to the female body.

The researchers added: 'Because unattractive body shapes are more common than attractive/athletic body shapes in our everyday environment, a preference for unattractive body shapes at nine months of age suggests that preferences for particular human body shapes reflect level of exposure and familiarity rather than culturally defined stereotypes of body attractiveness'