Do men prefer bigger women?

Some of you may have seen the article in the Telegraph at the start of August about research that appeared to show that men prefer larger women when stressed. The article caused quite a stir, with both women and men piling-in to air their views on stress and what makes a perfect body. (For what it's worth, a straw poll of 'one' confirmed that men prefer bigger women, but then he would say that, wouldn't he!)

The research was done by Westminster University, who split 80 volunteers into two groups, with one group being 'stressed' by mock job interviews and mental arithmetic. Both groups were shown pictures of a range of female body shapes and asked to rate their attractiveness. The results showed that men in the stressed group rated larger figures than those in the control group.

I won't dwell on the research, or the plethora of comments, but I will mention two of the explanations for the results, put forward by the researchers:

• stressed men prefer homely qualities, which indicates the availability of plentiful resources and food, and
• stressed men prefer more mature women, better equipped for coping with stressful situations.
• We all suffer from stress and there is no doubt that our lives are busier and more stressful than those experienced by our parents and grandparents. We all need some help with stress, so what better way than some of the things identified by the researchers at Westminster:
• concentrating on homely qualities
• making sure we get the right food
• making sure we get plenty of sleep
• turning to our families and friends
• turning to someone who can help us with stress

In addition to Westminster's finding some people turn to Complementary Therapies such as Reflexology, to help reduce stress.

Reflexology allows people slow down by settling anxious or racing thoughts, agitation, irritability and depression and helps with the more physical symptoms of stress such as aches & pains, diarrhoea, nausea, dizziness, chest pain, rapid heart beat and lowered immune system.

It can work really well for those of us that are stressed and in need of an hours' relaxation, an hour to ourselves, an hour for a chat with someone who listens and a guilt free hour putting ourselves first!