The Land Where Men Prefer Size 14 Women

By Hilary Walke | June 23, 2009

The weather is warm, the beaches are gorgeous, the accents are sexy, and…. the men prefer a size 14 woman?

Yup. We love you, Australia.

According to new data, men down under like something to grab on to. As opposed to America’s obsession with waif-thin models, Aussie men prefer what the researchers are calling "Miss Average," a size 14 woman. The study found that the most attractive woman of all is as follows.

Height: 5ft 4in

Waist: 30in

Hips: 40in

Size: 14

Slightly overweight people may live longer than very thin people >>

And it doesn’t stop there. The too-thin-celeb-trend may be just that: too thin. The University of New South Wales researchers said “many modern-day celebrities may simply be too thin to be tempting.”

Momlogic did their own research to see if American men were ready for the size 14’s. The results? They’re not. Yet sadly, we’re not surprised.

Africa is right up there with Australia’s trend, but on a different kind of note.

Overweight and obese women from the country of Mauritania in Africa are considered beautiful, rich, and desirable. However, some argue they have taken it too far.

With “wife-fattening” farms and girls who are force fed from their childhood, Mauritania’s government has argued that the weight these girls grow to is “life threatening.”

"I make them eat lots of dates, lots and lots of couscous and other fattening food," Fatematou said to BBC News. Fatematou is in her sixties, very overweight, and runs a feeding camp that parents send their daughters to for extreme weight gain.

Making your children finish their vegetables at dinner is one thing. But force-feeding? That’s just out of line.

With America’s obesity rates rising and models getting thinner and thinner, are we forgetting where to draw the line when it comes to weight issues?

It seems as though we have put appearance on top of health in our priority list, and it’s not looking pretty.

Note: there are links within this article, but I didn't transfer them. Too lazy, I guess, but you can read the entire article by clicking on the link in the headline.