TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - How attractive do you see yourself compared to your significant other?
A recent study by Florida State researchers shows your answer to that may have a bigger effect than you think, especially when it comes to dieting behaviors.
Researchers had each participant complete a lengthy questionnaire, focusing in part on their desire to diet or have a thin body.
A full-body photograph was taken of every participant and rated on a scale of 1 to 10.
Two teams of undergraduate evaluators studied the photos: one at Southern Methodist University in Texas focused on spouses' facial attractiveness, while another at FSU looked at body attractiveness.
They found that women evaluated as less attractive, were more motivated to diet and be thin if their husbands were attractive.
That extra motivation to diet, however, did not exist among women judged more attractive than their husbands. As for men, their motivation to diet was low regardless of their wives' attractiveness or their own.
