Men prefer more fertile women, say scientists

THE more fertile a woman, the more attractive she is to men, scientists said yesterday.

A study has found that females with high levels of the sex hormone oestrogen have prettier faces and are more likely to catch the attention of the opposite sex.

Make-up such as foundation and powder can mask the effect, however.

Psychologists at St Andrew’s University asked volunteers to rate a selection of young women’s faces for attractiveness, health and femininity. Those with higher levels of oestrogen came out top with both men and women.

Miriam Law Smith, who led the study, said: “Women are effectively advertising their general fertility with their faces.

“Our findings could explain why men universally seem to prefer feminine women’s faces.

“In evolutionary terms, it makes sense for men to favour fertile women, those who did would have had more babies.”

The psychologist said oestrogen had an impact on appearance during puberty, when it can affect bone growth and skin texture.

Those with high levels of the hormone often have attractive bone structure and smooth skin. The research showed that make-up can mask a women’s attractiveness to men. No relationship between appearance and oestrogen was found in the responses to women wearing make-up.

Researchers believe that, while make-up improves facial appearance, it may be masking cues normally seen in the face.