Good news, fellas, it is now officially a good thing to be punching above your weight. In fact, it's better for all concerned.
A study by Florida State University has found that heterosexual relationships and marriages tend to be more successful when the female is the more attractive one.
The study examined 113 newlywed couples living near Dallas, who had been married less than four months and averaged in their late 20s. They also agreed to be rated on their attractiveness (brave move, that one) by boffins from Southern Methodist University and Florida State University. It's just like Your Face Or Mine, but with science rather than Jimmy Carr's savaging.
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As part of the study, they were also given a questionnaire to fill in, which explored their desire to remain fit and sexy. Remember, they were all fairly young couples and still in the honeymoon phase of their relationship, so things could all go downhill.
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"The results reveal that having a physically attractive husband may have negative consequences for wives, especially if those wives are not particularly attractive," says researcher Tania Reynolds.
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"The research suggests there might be social factors playing a role in women's disordered eating."
Researchers found that women who had more attractive husbands were more likely to diet and lose weight in order to look better. Sure, eating well and exercising is one thing, but being in a constant battle to keep your weight down isn't exactly gonna make wifey all that happy, is it?
Those with less attractive husbands, it turned out, felt less need to diet all the time - making them much happier in their relationship. Annoyingly for women, though, the men didn't seem as driven by the pressure from their partner's looks, with the study explaining: "In contrast, men's dieting motivations were not significantly associated with their own and their partners' attractiveness."
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But the husbands weren't completely unarsed. The study did show that men who felt they 'out-kicked their coverage' in relationships were more likely to go out of their way to please their better half.
"The husbands seemed to be basically more committed, more invested in pleasing their wives when they felt that they were getting a pretty good deal," the study said.
So there we have it. Keep on chowing down on that bacon sarnie in your sweaty old joggers - it's what she wants.
Source: Florida State University, Florida State University News
Featured Image Credit: Knocked Up / Universal PicturesTopics: World News, News, the big bang theory, Relationships