# Scientific Proof that BHM Prefer Thin Women



## Buffetbelly (Dec 4, 2009)

Romantic interest in obese college students
Mara S. Aruguetea, , , Jeanne L. Edmanb, 1, and Alayne Yatesc, 2, 

aDepartment of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Lincoln University; 820 Chestnut St., 310 FH, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0029, USA

bResearch Office, Cosumnes River College, 8401 Center Parkway, Sacramento, CA 95823, USA

cDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Hawaii at Manoa. 1356 Lusitana Street, 4th Floor, UH Tower, Honolulu, HI 96813, USA


Received 3 September 2008; revised 18 February 2009; accepted 20 March 2009. Available online 29 March 2009. 
Abstract

This study compares romantic interest in obese and non-obese students. We surveyed 1217 college students on their demographic characteristics, self-perceptions (self-loathing and drive for thinness), and romantic selectivity. Obese people (especially women) showed strongly negative self-perceptions. Obese people and women were less likely to be selective about the physical traits of their potential partners than nonobese people and men. Obese women preferred overweight (but not obese) partners. Obese men preferred partners in the normal weight range. Results suggest that obesity is associated with predictable alterations in one's romantic attraction to others.


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## Buffetbelly (Dec 4, 2009)

Few studies have assessed romantic attitudes and experiences among obese people. Existing research on obesity and romance has mainly concentrated on how stigma associated with obesity may bias potential partners against forming romantic relationships with obese people ([Chen and Brown, 2005] and [Sitton and Blanchard, 1995]). Research examining the experiences of obese people suggests that obesity may affect the likelihood of forming lasting, satisfying romantic relationships ([Ball et al., 2004] and [Viner and Cole, 2005]). Our study investigates how obese people select romantic partners. The matching hypothesis (Walster, Aronson, Abrahams, & Rottman, 1966) predicts that people will be romantically inclined toward others who are similar in physical characteristics. We test the predictions of this hypothesis by comparing romantic selectivity among obese and non-obese college students.
The stigma of obesity in romantic relationships has been well documented, and indicates that obesity lowers the value of a potential romantic partner. For example, when adults are asked to rank order their preferences in sexual partners, obese partners tend to be least preferred, and are ranked lower than partners with a range of disabilities. The obese partner scores especially low when ranked by men (Chen & Brown, 2005). Sitton & Blanchard (1995) placed personal advertisements in newspapers describing a woman who was either 50 lb overweight or had a history of chemical dependency. Men were significantly more likely to respond to the advertisement for the woman with drug addiction problems. These results suggest that weight prejudice likely influences romantic attraction and relationship formation.

Research has shown an expectation of low romantic involvement among overweight people. When asked to evaluate love in overweight and thin people, college students expected overweight people to be less attractive, lower in self-esteem, less erotic, and less able to find a thin, attractive partner (Harris, 1990). On television, overweight people are portrayed as having few romantic relationships compared with other characters. Overweight female characters are less likely to be considered attractive and display little physical affection (Greenberg, Eastin, Hofschire, Lachlan, & Brownell, 2003). These studies suggest that Americans perceive overweight or obese people as having low involvement and success in romance.

Evidence suggests that obese people may indeed have a difficult time finding satisfying romantic relationships. In a large sample of community women, Ball et al. (2004) found that obese women tended to be less satisfied with their romantic relationships and social activities than their lower-weight cohorts. In a longitudinal study, Viner and Cole (2005) followed obese children into adulthood to examine the long-term impact of obesity. After statistically controlling for a range of other variables, they found that persistent obesity in women was associated with poor relationship outcomes and low incidence of romantic partnering. Research on adolescents has shown that for each point increase in Body Mass Index (BMI), there is a corresponding 6% decrease in the probability of being involved in a romantic relationship (Halpern, King, Oslak, & Udry, 2005). These studies indicate that obesity is associated with relationship problems, especially for women.

To date, there has been little research on the romantic attraction initiated by obese people. The Matching Hypothesis (Walster et al., 1966) predicts that a person's own attractiveness will determine to whom they are romantically inclined. A person who feels physically attractive will be selective about partner choice and only choose partners who are also attractive. If obese people feel unattractive, they should be less selective about choosing physical characteristics in partners, and may prefer others who are overweight or obese. Schafer and Keith (1990) examined young married couples and found that they tended to match one another in weight, although older married couples tended to show weight discrepancy. Thus, there is limited support for the matching hypothesis as applied to weight.

Our study investigates romantic selectivity among obese and non-obese college students. Based on previous research and the matching hypothesis, we predict that 1) obese people will show negative self-perceptions, 2) obese people will show less romantic selectivity for physical traits than non-obese people, 3) obese people will tend to prefer overweight or obese romantic partners, and 4) negative self-perceptions will be associated with low partner selectivity.


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## Buffetbelly (Dec 4, 2009)

Our first hypothesis predicted that obese people would show negative self-perceptions indicated by a negative body image. We tested this hypothesis using 2 × 2 (gender × obese status) ANOVAs on self-loathing and drive for thinness. For self-loathing, we found a significant main effect of obese status, F (1, 1129) = 22.79, p < .001. Obese people (M = 13.26, SD = 4.06) showed greater self-loathing than nonobese people (M = 11.47, SD = 3.85). We also found a significant main effect of gender, F (1, 1129) = 11.05, p < .01. Women (M = 11.99, SD = 3.94) showed greater self-loathing than men (M = 11.16, SD = 3.85). There was a significant interaction in the Drive for Thinness measure, F (1, 1117) = 5.76, p < .05. Obese women (M = 7.69, SD = 6.13) showed a far stronger drive for thinness than obese men (M = 3.62, SD = 4.22), non-obese women (M = 4.07, SD = 5.04), or non-obese men (M = 2.11, SD = 3.40). These results indicate that obese people, and especially obese women, showed negative self-perceptions.

Our second hypothesis predicted that obese people would show less romantic selectivity than non-obese people. We tested this hypothesis using 2 × 2 (Gender × Obese Status) ANOVAs on the total Romantic Selectivity score and the Physical Traits Selectivity score. ANOVA on total Romantic Selectivity showed main effects of obese status, F (1, 1118) = 6.01, p < .05., and gender, F (1, 1118) = 4.97, p < .05. Non-obese people (M = 3.84, SD = .53) were slightly more selective than obese people (M = 3.70, SD = .51). Women (M = 3.86, SD = .50) were slightly more selective than men (M = 3.73, SD = .58). ANOVA for Physical Traits Selectivity showed even stronger main effects of obese status, F (1, 1128) = 16.22, p < .001, and gender, F (1, 1128) = 5.33, p < .05. Obese participants (M = 3.10, SD = .71) were less selective about the physical traits of their potential romantic partners than non-obese participants (M = 3.39, SD = .73). Women (M = 3.32, SD = .71) were also less selective about physical characteristics than men were (M = 3.41, SD = .74). Thus, in support of our hypothesis, obese people showed less romantic selectivity than non-obese people, especially when considering physical traits of potential partners.

Our third hypothesis predicted that obese people would tend to prefer overweight or obese romantic partners. A 2 × 2 (gender × obese status) ANOVA on preferred partner BMI indicated a significant interaction, F (1, 1055) = 6.85, p < .01. Women generally desired partners with higher BMIs than men. However, this discrepancy was especially pronounced in the obese subsample. Obese women (M = 28.09, SD = 4.04) desired partners with mean BMIs in the overweight range. Obese men (M = 21.75, SD = 4.00), non-obese men (M = 20.16, SD = 2.55), and non-obese women (M = 24.89, SD = 3.26) desired partners with mean BMIs in the normal range. Obese participants, in general, were not typically looking for obese partners. Only 17% of obese participants indicated that they preferred obese partners. Thus, in partial support of the hypothesis, obese women (but not obese men) preferred overweight partners.

Our fourth hypothesis predicted that negative self-perceptions will be associated with low partner selectivity. We tested this by performing bivariate correlations on drive for thinness, self-loathing, romantic selectivity, physical traits selectivity, and preferred partner BMI. Drive for thinness showed very small, but significant positive correlations with romantic selectivity, r (1160) = .10, p < .01; physical traits selectivity, r (1171) = .06, p < .05; and preferred partner BMI, r (1092) = .07, p < .05. Self-loathing likewise showed small correlations with romantic selectivity, r (1175) = .09, p < .01; physical traits selectivity, r (1185) = .06, p = .06; and Preferred Partner BMI, r (1105) = .08, p < .05. These low correlations suggest that negative self-perception does not have a meaningful association with partner selectivity.


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## Buffetbelly (Dec 4, 2009)

Obesity has repercussions for many aspects of a person's life. In addition to well-documented physical health risks, obesity is associated with changes in a person's emotional and social life (Goble, 2008). Our study examined the association between obesity and romantic interest. Results indicate that obese people, especially obese women, have strong negative self-perceptions. Obese people are less likely to be selective about the physical traits of their potential partners. Obese women prefer overweight partners, while obese men prefer thinner partners. Results suggest that obesity is significantly associated with romantic attraction to others.

Our results partially support the matching hypothesis, which predicts that people will tend to prefer partners who match their own level of physical attractiveness. The matching hypothesis is similar to the popular reference to being romantically attracted to someone in one's own league. Romantic interest in someone considerably more attractive than oneself (out of one's league) might likely result in rejection. Therefore, matching can be seen as a reality-based, pragmatic means of finding a partner with whom a successful romantic relationship will be possible (Hatfield & Sprecher, in press). In our study, obese people (especially women) held negative body images, as evidenced by self-loathing and drive for thinness. When choosing romantic partners, obese people were less concerned about physical traits and preferred heavier partners than non-obese people. However, there were two important discrepancies between our findings and the predictions of the matching hypothesis. First, although obese people preferred heavier partners, they did not prefer obese partners. Also, negative self-perceptions showed little relation to romantic selectivity. Thus, our findings only partially supported the matching hypothesis.

Another curiosity involved the gender difference in partner preference. When asked the desired BMI in a romantic partner, scores of obese women more closely mirrored the matching hypothesis than scores of obese men. Obese women preferred overweight partners. In contrast, obese men desired partners who were much thinner than they were. Two possible outcomes exist for these findings. One possibility is that obesity has more negative consequences for women than for men. Research on stigmatization indeed shows a gender difference with women being more likely to face weight-based stigmatization ([Pingatore et al., 1994] and [Roehling et al., 2007]). Another possibility is that obese men do not strategically use matching to secure romantic partners. In desiring thin romantic partners, obese men may be likely to experience rejection. Consequently, obese men may be unlikely to experience romantic relationships. These issues might be researched by examining relationship histories, current romantic involvement, and perceived weight-based stigmatization of obese men and women. It would also be interesting to examine gender in relation to the outcomes of the matching strategy. That is, does weight-based matching result in benefits (e.g., reduced rejection, greater relationship commitment) or costs (e.g., fewer choices of partners) for men and women?

There are several limitations to our research. Our data were collected exclusively on college students. Older samples of obese individuals might be examined to see whether age is associated with different views on romantic interest. It would also be sensible for further research to examine how romantic preferences of obese people are related to ethnicity, sexual orientation, and eating behaviors. Previous research has shown that these variables are likely to be related to romantic preferences and/or obesity ([Aruguete et al., 2005], Freedman et al., 2004 R.E.K. Freedman, M.M. Carter, T. Sbrocco and J.J. Gray, Ethnic differences in preferences for female weight and waist-to-hip ratio: A comparison of African-American and White American college and community samples, Eating Behaviors 5 (2004), pp. 191198. Article | PDF (94 K) | View Record in Scopus | Cited By in Scopus (11)[Freedman et al., 2004] and [Yates et al., 2004]). Finally, the proposed causal relationship between obesity and romantic interest cannot be investigated using a correlational design. Longitudinal research that follows romantic interests of participants as they gain or lose weight would suggest the plausibility of a casual relationship between these variables. Despite these limitations, our study represents one of the first attempts to examine the romantic interests of obese people. These results, combined with other research on the causes and consequences of obesity, help to describe and explain the experience of being obese in the United States.


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## StarMoon (Dec 4, 2009)

Buffetbelly said:


> Obesity has repercussions for many aspects of a person's life. In addition to well-documented physical health risks, obesity is associated with changes in a person's emotional and social life (Goble, 2008). _*Our study examined the association between obesity and romantic interest. Results indicate that obese people, especially obese women, have strong negative self-perceptions. Obese people are less likely to be selective about the physical traits of their potential partners. Obese women prefer overweight partners, while obese men prefer thinner partners. Results suggest that obesity is significantly associated with romantic attraction to others.
> *_
> Our results partially support the matching hypothesis, which predicts that people will tend to prefer partners who match their own level of physical attractiveness. The matching hypothesis is similar to the popular reference to being romantically attracted to someone “in one's own league”. Romantic interest in someone considerably more attractive than oneself (“out of one's league”) might likely result in rejection. Therefore, matching can be seen as a reality-based, pragmatic means of finding a partner with whom a successful romantic relationship will be possible (Hatfield & Sprecher, in press). In our study, obese people (especially women) held negative body images, as evidenced by self-loathing and drive for thinness. When choosing romantic partners, obese people were less concerned about physical traits and preferred heavier partners than non-obese people. However, there were two important discrepancies between our findings and the predictions of the matching hypothesis. First, although obese people preferred heavier partners, they did not prefer obese partners. Also, negative self-perceptions showed little relation to romantic selectivity. Thus, our findings only partially supported the matching hypothesis.
> 
> ...




While this thread pontentially be a hot bed of trouble I feel I have to comment especially to the above highlight. In my experience including browsing various FA/BBW forums, dating sites etc. the opposite to be true.

This is an example:
http://books.google.com/books?id=_I...e=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false

Page 79 - Where It Fails

PS All the factors for a while caused me to be very skeptical for there being any bbws who preferred big guys, I am in the process of trying to overcome my original skepticism. Ironically I can feel in a strange how the women who feel that bhm only have eyes for thin partners.


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## stldpn (Dec 4, 2009)

Buffetbelly said:


> Romantic interest in obese college students
> Mara S. Aruguetea, , , Jeanne L. Edmanb, 1, and Alayne Yatesc, 2,
> 
> aDepartment of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Lincoln University; 820 Chestnut St., 310 FH, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0029, USA
> ...



Ok fine I'm a scientific anomally...


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## daddyoh70 (Dec 4, 2009)

The US Census Bureau projects that there are 18.4 million students enrolled in colleges and universities as of the fall semester 2009.
http://www.census.gov/Press-Release...cts_for_features_special_editions/012084.html
Therefore I would hardly call 6.61413043 × 10-5power an acurate gauge for scientific proof. The same problem with this study, as with every other study that ever existed, the people conducting the study try to claim that surveying less than .0000001% of the population is accurate to surveying everyone on earth. It's ridiculous to put any faith in any one of the "studies."


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## mrfantasy90 (Dec 5, 2009)

I preffer bbw or ssbbw:eat2:


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## Garfield (Dec 5, 2009)

I prefer thin FFA, the thinner, the better ... sorry :blush:


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## Rowan (Dec 5, 2009)

Well..I am not typical for that study, because I prefer men who are slender, average or muscular *shrug* Guess I'm outside the norm if I'm held to the standard of that study.


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## escapist (Dec 5, 2009)

I've dated women from sizes 1 - 26+ I liked different things about every one of them. As to my SSBHM too Tiny women attraction...I don't know something just so cute and fun about easily being able to pack my girl around, pick her up play & have fun.


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## Ninja Glutton (Dec 5, 2009)

Fat love, skinny love

As long as it's love


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## Weeze (Dec 6, 2009)

Ninja Glutton said:


> Fat love, skinny love
> 
> As long as it's love



Quote for troof.


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## WillSpark (Dec 6, 2009)

There should really be an (on average) or (in this study) tacked on to the title, as opposed to it being "proof of how everything really is because this one group said so."

I mean, you fill a glass of water from the ocean and it doesn't have fish in it, but does that mean there are no fish in the ocean?


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## JenFromOC (Dec 6, 2009)

I found it to be an interesting read...


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## Teleute (Dec 6, 2009)

a) That's a really small and restricted sample group - 1217 people total, and all college students? Yikes.

b) I don't quite understand their survey techniques. They report mean BMIs, so does that mean they asked for a preferred BMI number or category, or did they show images and ask which was preferred? And how does the preference of many women for a very muscular physique factor in to that? The BMI of a bodybuilder puts them in the overweight or obese category, but the results will be read as "fat" rather than "muscular", which would lead to a very different interpretation.

c) The title of your post is a little off the mark. Take a look at this again:



Buffetbelly said:


> Women generally desired partners with higher BMIs than men. However, this discrepancy was especially pronounced in the obese subsample. Obese women (M = 28.09, SD = 4.04) desired partners with mean BMIs in the overweight range. Obese men (M = 21.75, SD = 4.00), non-obese men (M = 20.16, SD = 2.55), and non-obese women (M = 24.89, SD = 3.26) desired partners with mean BMIs in the normal range.



We already know that men who prefer fat women are in the minority; there's not a whole lot of difference here between obese men and non-obese men. The only real difference is that obese men had a wider range of what they found attractive than did non-obese men (the larger SD - it works out to 68% of obese men having a partner preference between 17.75 and 25.75 BMI, and non-obese men having a preference between 17.61 and 22.71 BMI). 

What this boils down to is more that there is no particular correlation between a man's BMI and the BMI which he finds most attractive. It's not so much "BHM prefer thin women" as it is "BHM prefer thin women at approximately the same rates at which non-BHM prefer thin women" (poorly worded on my part, but I hope you understood what I meant). That said, it was an interesting read, although I do have my reservations about the quality and relevance of the study


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## mergirl (Dec 6, 2009)

I couldn't be bothered reading the study but saw that teleute had posted ...She is my Summary and critique woman. I wish i had her for life in general as i would be informed while remaining interested! Fab!


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## rabbitislove (Dec 6, 2009)

*headdesk*
why god, why??!


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## Teleute (Dec 6, 2009)

mergirl said:


> I couldn't be bothered reading the study but saw that teleute had posted ...She is my Summary and critique woman. I wish i had her for life in general as i would be informed while remaining interested! Fab!



Happy to be of service 



rabbitislove said:


> *headdesk*
> why god, why??!



That they got funding for this, you mean?


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## Melian (Dec 6, 2009)

mergirl said:


> I couldn't be bothered reading the study but saw that teleute had posted ...She is my Summary and critique woman. I wish i had her for life in general as i would be informed while remaining interested! Fab!



Now mer, did you _really _need someone to tell you that a study like this was a load of crap?


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## rabbitislove (Dec 6, 2009)

Teleute said:


> Happy to be of service
> 
> 
> 
> That they got funding for this, you mean?




Well that. Also why god, why was this posted. 
All I want to do is be friends with the BBWs who are into BHMs!


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## escapist (Dec 7, 2009)

rabbitislove said:


> Well that. Also why god, why was this posted.
> All I want to do is be friends with the BBWs who are into BHMs!



Thats a good thing cause as cute and small as you are well I know there are fantasy stories about Amazon BBW's in prison or something so...yeah...umm...Make Friends Not Foe's! :happy:

*Helps you bake some special peace keeping friendship cookies* (I'll only take a dozen or 2 for myself :eat2


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## mergirl (Dec 7, 2009)

Melian said:


> Now mer, did you _really _need someone to tell you that a study like this was a load of crap?


I like to hear that things are a lot of crap from a scientific perspective before i jump to conclusions melian!


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## Buffetbelly (Dec 7, 2009)

Pretty astute, Teleute! A few replies...



Teleute said:


> a) That's a really small and restricted sample group - 1217 people total, and all college students? Yikes.



Over a thousand people is a huge study for asking such personal questions, come on! Lots of the surveys that make headlines have as few as 30 people. Now THOSE are ridiculous! Over a thousand in a sample gives you huge statistical power. As it was, this was pretty expensive. Lots of mind-numbing data entry involved here...



Teleute said:


> b) I don't quite understand their survey techniques. They report mean BMIs, so does that mean they asked for a preferred BMI number or category, or did they show images and ask which was preferred? And how does the preference of many women for a very muscular physique factor in to that? The BMI of a bodybuilder puts them in the overweight or obese category, but the results will be read as "fat" rather than "muscular", which would lead to a very different interpretation.



Sorry! The methods section was really dull and hard to read. They used silhouettes of increasing fatness, which is pretty standard in studies of this type. 



Teleute said:


> c) The title of your post is a little off the mark.



*TOTALLY* agreed! My title was not intended to be a fair summary but to inspire folks to read the study and discuss!



Teleute said:


> Take a look at this again:
> 
> We already know that men who prefer fat women are in the minority; there's not a whole lot of difference here between obese men and non-obese men. The only real difference is that obese men had a wider range of what they found attractive than did non-obese men (the larger SD - it works out to 68% of obese men having a partner preference between 17.75 and 25.75 BMI, and non-obese men having a preference between 17.61 and 22.71 BMI).



Excellent point about the higher SD for the fat guys! That also means that there are more fat guys who like really thin women, though, as well the more fat guys who like BBW's.



Teleute said:


> What this boils down to is more that there is no particular correlation between a man's BMI and the BMI which he finds most attractive. It's not so much "BHM prefer thin women" as it is "BHM prefer thin women at approximately the same rates at which non-BHM prefer thin women" (poorly worded on my part, but I hope you understood what I meant). That said, it was an interesting read, although I do have my reservations about the quality and relevance of the study



OK, but how many people would be eager to jump to a thread entitled, _"BHM prefer thin women at approximately the same rates at which non-BHM prefer thin women"_?


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## stldpn (Dec 7, 2009)

rabbitislove said:


> Well that. Also why god, why was this posted.
> All I want to do is be friends with the BBWs who are into BHMs!



The truth.. I've heard it before I'm sure I'll hear it again... a lot of fat people believe that sex with other fat people can't be pleasurable. The idea that anatomy is a greater barrier than an abject lack of creativity is the issue. IMHO It's a great big sham more or less, sometimes seems to be a way to substantiate a lack of coordination or outright laziness. Weight can limit activity, but it doesn't bar it altogether.


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## escapist (Dec 7, 2009)

stldpn said:


> The truth.. I've heard it before I'm sure I'll hear it again... a lot of fat people believe that sex with other fat people can't be pleasurable. The idea that anatomy is a greater barrier than an abject lack of creativity is the issue. IMHO It's a great big sham more or less, sometimes seems to be a way to substantiate a lack of coordination or outright laziness. Weight can limit activity, but it doesn't bar it altogether.



All I know is I'm 400+ my wife was 300+ and it never stopped us, we got it on at least every other day for 10 years. It never felt difficult or hard to us.


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## Teleute (Dec 7, 2009)

escapist said:


> All I know is I'm 400+ my wife was 300+ and it never stopped us, we got it on at least every other day for 10 years. It never felt difficult or hard to us.



<insert "hard" joke here>

<insert "insert hard joke" joke here">


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## escapist (Dec 7, 2009)

Teleute said:


> <insert "hard" joke here>
> 
> <insert "insert hard joke" joke here">



Man I'm slow today, that took me a minute to catch lol.


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## stldpn (Dec 7, 2009)

escapist said:


> All I know is I'm 400+ my wife was 300+ and it never stopped us, we got it on at least every other day for 10 years. It never felt difficult or hard to us.



Well not to trash bbws or anything but it's mainly bbws that I hear this sob story from... I'm thinkin it's easier to try to disuede a guy by telling him that he'll never be able to have penetrative sex with ya than it is to admit that you have an honest preference for thin men... course then... I'm a guy... I'm sure bbws get the same thing from men who are too chickenshit to admit that they don't really find fat that doesn't belong to them attractive...


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## Buffetbelly (Dec 9, 2009)

Just want to add a couple of obvious points:

1. The average college student is an immature jerk.
2. No one on this forum is average. If you were, you would be over at a celebrity gossip forum.


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## BigChaz (Dec 9, 2009)

Buffetbelly said:


> Just want to add a couple of obvious points:
> 
> 1. The average college student is an immature jerk.
> 2. No one on this forum is average. If you were, you would be over at a celebrity gossip forum.



I'm average, I just hate gossip and don't give a fuck about celebrities.


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## seasuperchub84 (Dec 9, 2009)

That study is so stupid.....theyve tried this multiple times before. People ultimately be who they want to be with no matter if they are fat/thin...whatever. 

I swear, the money the diet/medical industry spends on this crap could be going towards medicines for the underserved or impoverished countries.

Dumbass studies....


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## OneHauteMama (Dec 9, 2009)

Meh. If it were a larger sampling, I'd be more inclined to take it a bit more seriously...and even then, it would still be with the attitude that I like what I like and I'm sure (okay POSITIVE) there are BHMs out there who like BBWs (I know of quite a few). 

Personally, I'm bi-sizual...So if a BHM is into me, hell's yeah I'll give it a go. But if a thin or average guy is, then he gets an equal opportunity. Unfortunately, the same rule doesn't apply to me in a lot of cases, but I'll find the right one eventually.


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## Tad (Dec 9, 2009)

A few odds and sodds of thoughts:

The sample size itself was pretty good, that size of sample should be pretty representative of the population from which it is drawn. The real question is the population from which it is drawn. They already admit that it is all college students, but in the quoted part they did not say how they got the information. Could be very different if was, for example, 'seeking volunteers for a study about romantic attraction' (will select for people who are more willing to admit information, more confident--the really shy are not as apt to take part in studies willingly I think, and who are interested in relationships), versus if this was gathered from all first year psychology students, for example. Also if it came all from one college (many people have noted 'personalities' associated with many colleges).

The population question is especially key as it relates to how questions were asked. College years, especially early college years, tend to be a time when we care a LOT about what peers think. Perhaps especially with the guys, depending on exactly how things were asked, they may have responded with the most acceptable answer, the one that would give more support from their peers (a big difference between "which one do you find the most attractive" and "which one would you most like to have a relationship with" versus "which one would you most like to sleep with" versus "who do you think would make the best match with you.") Also I'd guess guys were more apt to interpret any question as being more about short term, mostly sexual, relations (what women of that age would interpret questions as I won't speculate)

Most of the differences noted between average values for groups were less than half a standard deviation. The differences may have been statistically significant, but that says that the differences within any of the groups were quite a bit larger than the differences between them.

The one exception to those small differences was that the obese women indicated a preference for guys averaging BMI 28, while all other groups chose people rather thinner. To me that was the one thing that really stood out. That is the area that would be interesting to see followed up in other research, to determine if their preference is really that different, were they interpreting questions differently, and whatever the direct reason, what were the underlying reasons.


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## KatsPyjamas (Dec 10, 2009)

Even if it were a more reliable study, the title of this thread is so out. Even if it proved that a large majority of BHM preferred thin women, that doesn't mean BHM prefer thin women by definition. This sort of misleading language is one of my pet peeves (though mostly when used by people trying to sell shit). Every day on TV I'm told "women prefer..." and think hold up, nobody asked me.


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## Sir Shrek (Dec 10, 2009)

For me, its all about the person not how heavy they happen to be. Ive dated skinny women and big women, whats important to me is you have to click there has to be some sort of chemistry for me.


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## stldpn (Dec 10, 2009)

KatsPyjamas said:


> Even if it were a more reliable study, the title of this thread is so out. Even if it proved that a large majority of BHM preferred thin women, that doesn't mean BHM prefer thin women by definition. This sort of misleading language is one of my pet peeves (though mostly when used by people trying to sell shit). Every day on TV I'm told "women prefer..." and think hold up, nobody asked me.



eh he was just trying to get you to post... but then I suppose in this forum a better subject line to cause a stir might have something that implies pics


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## Buffetbelly (Dec 10, 2009)

Tad said:


> A few odds and sodds of thoughts:
> 
> The sample size itself was pretty good, that size of sample should be pretty representative of the population from which it is drawn. The real question is the population from which it is drawn. They already admit that it is all college students, but in the quoted part they did not say how they got the information. Could be very different if was, for example, 'seeking volunteers for a study about romantic attraction' (will select for people who are more willing to admit information, more confident--the really shy are not as apt to take part in studies willingly I think, and who are interested in relationships), versus if this was gathered from all first year psychology students, for example.


I'm pretty sure it was all first year psych students. Also usually, they don't tell people what the study is about because that would affect the results. When I took freshman psych and volunteered for a study, I was led into a room and given a test booklet. There was huge bowl of wheat thins with a bright light shining down on them and I was told to help myself. I said, "hold it right there, I know exactly what you are testing here." I proceeded to say what their hypothesis was. The experimenters were really mad because they were short on obese subjects, but they agreed that it would be invalid to do the study knowing that it was all about counting the number of crackers I ate and not about the actual test I was taking.


> Also if it came all from one college (many people have noted 'personalities' associated with many colleges).


I suppose it might have been a party school with lots of wild frats!


> The population question is especially key as it relates to how questions were asked. College years, especially early college years, tend to be a time when we care a LOT about what peers think. Perhaps especially with the guys, depending on exactly how things were asked, they may have responded with the most acceptable answer, the one that would give more support from their peers (a big difference between "which one do you find the most attractive" and "which one would you most like to have a relationship with" versus "which one would you most like to sleep with" versus "who do you think would make the best match with you.") Also I'd guess guys were more apt to interpret any question as being more about short term, mostly sexual, relations (what women of that age would interpret questions as I won't speculate)
> 
> Most of the differences noted between average values for groups were less than half a standard deviation. The differences may have been statistically significant, but that says that the differences within any of the groups were quite a bit larger than the differences between them.
> 
> The one exception to those small differences was that the obese women indicated a preference for guys averaging BMI 28, while all other groups chose people rather thinner. To me that was the one thing that really stood out. That is the area that would be interesting to see followed up in other research, to determine if their preference is really that different, were they interpreting questions differently, and whatever the direct reason, what were the underlying reasons.



Well, just from the title they recognize that fat people DO have romantic partners and DO have partner preferences and MIGHT even be human beings, which is a really enlightened attitude compared to most psychologists you read about!


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## jdwhitak (Dec 10, 2009)

What does it really matter what other people prefer?


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## chicken legs (Dec 11, 2009)

jdwhitak said:


> What does it really matter what other people prefer?



when it comes to marketing the right product..it matters alot$$$$$...

If you give the most popular person a product to test or have....it usually sells like hotcakes...or if you tell the biggest gossip news ...it spreads like wildfire...etc..

I just wonder what the underlining motive of the study is.. or who funded such study


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## mergirl (Dec 11, 2009)

Buffetbelly said:


> Well, just from the title they recognize that fat people DO have romantic partners and DO have partner preferences and MIGHT even be human beings, which is a really enlightened attitude compared to most psychologists you read about!



Which psychologists have you been reading about with that attitude!!?? Even just a few examples, seeing as you think that most have a bad attitude when it comes to fat people. Research psychologists have to be objective and scientific, so i'm not sure they would assume fat people were not human beings that have sex lives.


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## Buffetbelly (Dec 12, 2009)

mergirl said:


> Which psychologists have you been reading about with that attitude!!?? Even just a few examples, seeing as you think that most have a bad attitude when it comes to fat people. Research psychologists have to be objective and scientific, so i'm not sure they would assume fat people were not human beings that have sex lives.



Oh, my, are you really challenging the idea that research psychologists are prejudiced against fat people and tend to dehumanize them? There are dozens of diet books written by research psychologists, just visit your local bookstore. The first chapter of each of every single one of those books is a diatribe about how awful it is to be fat and how miserable fat people are, and how if any fat person thinks they are happy they are only fooling themselves. (Conveniently, this kinds of thinking leads to buying more diet books!)


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## Melian (Dec 13, 2009)

Buffetbelly said:


> Oh, my, are you really challenging the idea that research psychologists are prejudiced against fat people and tend to dehumanize them? *There are dozens of diet books written by research psychologists, just visit your local bookstore*. The first chapter of each of every single one of those books is a diatribe about how awful it is to be fat and how miserable fat people are, and how if any fat person thinks they are happy they are only fooling themselves. (Conveniently, this kinds of thinking leads to buying more diet books!)



Pop psychology differs greatly from real psychology.

I am a researcher in a psychiatric facility and sincerely believe that MOST researchers are guided by facts, rather than any personal bias. There will always be some exceptions, and the "diet industry" will continue to fund studies that interest them, but the majority of researchers just want to assemble their data, make logical conclusions and publish.


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## mergirl (Dec 13, 2009)

Buffetbelly said:


> Oh, my, are you really challenging the idea that research psychologists are prejudiced against fat people and tend to dehumanize them? There are dozens of diet books written by research psychologists, just visit your local bookstore. The first chapter of each of every single one of those books is a diatribe about how awful it is to be fat and how miserable fat people are, and how if any fat person thinks they are happy they are only fooling themselves. (Conveniently, this kinds of thinking leads to buying more diet books!)


Ahh those kind of 'Psychology' books.. yeah like Melian said.. Saying this kind of writing is true psychology is like saying chewing gum is a meal.


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## John12 (Dec 13, 2009)

Fat or thin? 

Love is all that matters!:smitten:


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