Men who are hungry or financially insecure are more likely to find larger female breasts attractive, according to a new scientific study published in the peer reviewed journal PLOS ONE.
The research, conducted by psychologists Viren Swami and Martin J. Tovée, examined how economic conditions and immediate physical states such as hunger influence men’s perception of physical attractiveness.
The study explored whether breast size is subconsciously interpreted as a signal of fat reserves and access to resources.
To reach their findings, the researchers carried out two separate studies in Malaysia and the United Kingdom.
In the Malaysian study, 266 men drawn from low, middle and high socioeconomic backgrounds were shown rotating computer generated images of women with varying breast sizes. Participants were asked to rate which images they found most attractive.
The results revealed a clear socioeconomic pattern. Men from low income rural areas showed a strong preference for larger breasts. Those from middle income towns preferred medium to large sizes, while men from high income urban areas were more attracted to smaller to medium breast sizes.
According to the study, “Men from relatively low socioeconomic sites rated larger breast sizes as more physically attractive than did participants in moderate socioeconomic sites, who in turn rated larger breast sizes as more attractive than individuals in a high socioeconomic site.”
The second study focused on hunger rather than income. In Britain, 124 male university students were divided into two groups. One group consisted of men who were hungry, while the other group had recently eaten. Both groups viewed the same set of images under identical conditions.
The findings showed that hungry men consistently rated larger breast sizes as more attractive than men who were not hungry. The researchers stated that, “Hungry men rated a significantly larger breast size as more physically attractive than did the satiated group.”
The study concluded that attraction is not fixed but responsive to both long term economic conditions and short term physical states.
Researchers noted that hunger and financial stress may push men to value physical traits that signal stability or access to resources, reinforcing the role of social and environmental factors in shaping perceptions of attractiveness.
