Lets see, most women vote Brad Pitt.

Moral of the story?

Status beats them all.

very interesting post thanks.

though i feel that as we obviously do have a skewed perspective, just knowing that rationally a girl prefers X body type might not be enough to override the idea that we might have of what we think is attractive (even though this article suggests differently).

however this isn't all bad as you'll no doubt come across more attractive if you're happy with whatever your body type is!
(within reason )

Yep, nice post, I've read that before somewhere. It's not all that surprising to be honest. Obviously girls don't like excess fat, but a lot of them are freaked out by really big muscles. Even a guy who isn't "big" but has really defined abs are often seen as "weird" - and I'd agree, a really ripped six pack just looks unnatural and not overly welcoming from a female's perspective. You want to aim for around 10-13% body fat, and not even worry too much about the muscle - that's achievable for most people without going overboard on diet or working out. It just needs a reasonably clean diet and some working out on top of that and you can have a body not far off those "ideal" ones on that article.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYzj4m138WQ

No more debate? Read Malcolm Gladwell's writing about surveys and you will see that this means nothing. What people say they want when asked and what people actually like in action are different. People don't know what they like until you give them a sample of everything.

^ that is subjective, but i have been successful with that body fat % that you mention, now i am trying to go 8%:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYzj4m138WQ[/youtube]

Yeah, I think the 10-13 is a level where you can get to without going too overboard on diet and still look pretty good. I think I read Brad Pitt got down to around 4% for some of those Fight Club scenes. That's bordering on unhealthy (we need essential fat) and is almost impossible for normal people to maintain. But it still looks good if you can add a bit of muscle bulk to it!

It really depends on the individual, their genetics and what they can realistically be bothered to maintain. I'm sure we all know those people who eat shit loads of junk and still stay stick thin, whereas I can basically look at a piece of chocolate and put on half a stone! haha. But 10% is a pretty arbitrary figure that I think most men can aspire to just by eating right and working out right but not doing anything too "serious". I would have to be far stricter to get any lower and I just can't really be bothered! If you've got the genetics and/or will power to get down to 8 then good luck man, that's still at healthy levels and with only a bit of muscle definition will look pretty sick!

Lothario - there are pictures there of a range of bodies for them to choose from from soft and podgey to slim and athletic to skinny to body builder freaky. How else can you "give them a sample of everything" if that doesn't? And whilst I acknowledge the point you're making, if you look at those photos I would possibly argue that the choice goes against the social norm. The social norm would generally be a bit more muscley I would say (even for girls' perception of the ideal male body, not just for the male perception of the perfect male body), but there are a few choices on there which see actually quite skinny guys with virtually no muscle on them whatsoever being voted as having some of the fitter bodies.