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Daily Mail: Fretting over your weight? You may be ready for a baby

Women worry most when their chances of conception are highest; fears about appearing attractive at ovulation ‘drive women to eat less

Meltzer, peak fertility, weight gain, SMU

London’s Daily Mail newspaper reported on the research of SMU social psychologist Andrea L. Meltzer, who was lead author on three independent studies that found biology isn’t the only reason women eat less as they near ovulation, a time when they are at their peak fertility.

The studies found that another part of the equation is a woman’s desire to maintain her body’s attractiveness, says Meltzer.

Women nearing ovulation who also reported an increase in their motivation to manage their body attractiveness reported eating fewer calories out of a desire to lose weight, said Meltzer, an assistant professor in the SMU Department of Psychology.

The article, “Fretting over your weight? You may be ready for a baby: Women worry most when their chances of conception are highest,” published June 2, 2015.

EXCERPT:

By Sophie Freeman
London Daily Mail

A woman being off her food could be a sign she is hungry for motherhood instead.

A study has found that women worry most about their weight when their chances of conception are highest.

Fears about appearing attractive at ovulation – as opposed to at other times in the month – drive them to eat less, according to the researchers.

The US study ties in with previous research that has found numerous subtle changes in female behaviour when fertility is high.

At this point in the month, a woman is more likely to dress fashionably, wear revealing clothing and have a roving eye.

Even something about the way a woman walks changes, with men finding her gait more
appealing when her odds of pregnancy are good.

These changes were thought to be driven by biology but the latest study suggests that some women are consciously making an effort to appear more attractive at certain times of the month.

In the first of three experiments, 22 young women were asked when their fertility was high, and again when it was low, how much weight they would like to lose.

The figure was bigger when they were fertile, the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin reports. A second study looked at a larger number of women, including some who were on the Pill.

Read the full article, “Fretting over your weight? You may be ready for a baby: Women worry most when their chances of conception are highest.”

Follow SMUResearch.com on twitter at @smuresearch.

SMU is a nationally ranked private university in Dallas founded 100 years ago. Today, SMU enrolls nearly 11,000 students who benefit from the academic opportunities and international reach of seven degree-granting schools. For more information see www.smu.edu.

SMU has an uplink facility located on campus for live TV, radio, or online interviews. To speak with an SMU expert or book an SMU guest in the studio, call SMU News & Communications at 214-768-7650.

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Culture, Society & Family Health & Medicine Mind & Brain

At peak fertility, women who desire to maintain body attractiveness report they eat less

Three independent studies find women near peak fertility who desire to maintain body attractiveness are motivated to eat less — unlike women who are not near ovulation, using hormonal birth control, or not motivated to maintain body attractiveness

SMU, Meltzer, ovulation, weight loss, women, attractiveness

Biology isn’t the only reason women eat less as they near ovulation, a time when they are at their peak fertility.

Three new independent studies found that another part of the equation is a woman’s desire to maintain her body’s attractiveness, says social psychologist and assistant professor Andrea L. Meltzer, Southern Methodist University, Dallas.

Women nearing ovulation who also reported an increase in their motivation to manage their body attractiveness reported eating fewer calories out of a desire to lose weight, said Meltzer, lead researcher on the study.

When women were not near peak fertility — regardless of whether they were motivated to manage their body attractiveness, near peak fertility but not motivated to manage their body attractiveness, or using hormonal birth control, they were less likely to want to lose weight and didn’t reduce their calories, Meltzer said.

“These findings may help reconcile prior inconsistencies regarding the implications of ovulatory processes,” said Meltzer. “The desire to manage body attractiveness was a motivational factor for desired weight loss when women are nearing ovulation.”

The research was funded by the National Science Foundation.

The findings are published in the journal Personality and Social Psychology. The article, “A psychophysiological mechanism underlying women’s weight-management goals: Women desire and strive for greater weight loss near peak fertility,” is published online in advance of print at http://bit.ly/1K9Utwn.

The authors note that their study adds to a growing body of ovulation research, particularly as it relates to women’s health and weight management.

Previous studies in the field have found that women, and many non-human mammals, consume fewer calories near peak fertility.

They’ve also found that ovulation shifts a woman’s goals to attract a partner, motivating her to enhance her appearance to compete for men.

The authors note, however, that studies by other researchers attribute those ovulatory shifts in eating behavior solely to physiological factors related to an interaction between the nervous system and the endocrine system.

But Meltzer and her colleagues say the new findings suggest an additional reason, one that is related to cultural norms and influences that dictate one way women may enhance their attractiveness is by managing their weight: Ovulating women may be motivated to lose weight and eat less if they are also motivated to improve their body attractiveness.

“Indeed, in our research we saw that shifting levels of hormones interacted with women’s desires to manage their body attractiveness, which predicted an important behavior — eating less,” Meltzer said. “These findings illustrate that broader social norms that dictate that thin women are more attractive can play a role, in addition to physiological factors.”

Meltzer’s co-authors on the study are James K. McNulty, Florida State University, Saul L. Miller, University of Kentucky, and Levi R. Baker, University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Findings are confirmed across three independent studies
The three independent studies involved three different groups of women.

The first study followed 22 heterosexual women who were not using hormonal contraceptives and found they desired greater weight loss when they were closer to ovulation than when they were not.

The second study followed 92 heterosexual women, some who were using and some who were not using hormonal contraceptives. Its findings replicated the findings of the first study: Women who were not using hormonal contraceptives near peak fertility reported wanting to weigh less. In contrast, women in the study using hormonal contraceptives — which act on the endocrine system to disrupt the menstrual cycle and prevent pregnancy by altering hormonal fluctuations — didn’t demonstrate a desire to lose weight.

A third study followed 89 married women and found that those who were not using hormonal birth control were the ones most motivated to restrict eating during peak fertility, but only when they were more motivated to maintain their body attractiveness.

“Not only did the primary effect replicate across three independent studies,” the authors said, “it emerged in two samples of undergraduate women from different universities and a sample of married women and did not vary across participants’ weight using two samples of women who had a normal weight on average and one sample of women who were overweight on average.” — Margaret Allen

Follow SMUResearch.com on twitter at @smuresearch.

SMU is a nationally ranked private university in Dallas founded 100 years ago. Today, SMU enrolls nearly 11,000 students who benefit from the academic opportunities and international reach of seven degree-granting schools. For more information see www.smu.edu.

SMU has an uplink facility located on campus for live TV, radio, or online interviews. To speak with an SMU expert or book an SMU guest in the studio, call SMU News & Communications at 214-768-7650.

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Culture, Society & Family Health & Medicine Mind & Brain Researcher news SMU In The News

Daily News: Women’s body image tied to what they think men like: study

Study found that heterosexual women who were told males preferred females with fuller figures felt better about their weight.

Meltzer, SMU, body image, women, men, self esteem

New York’s Daily News newspaper reported on the research of SMU social psychologist Andrea L. Meltzer, who was lead author on a new series of studies that found that telling women that men desire larger women who aren’t model-thin made the women feel better about their own weight.

Results of the three independent studies suggest a woman’s body image is strongly linked to her perception of what she thinks men prefer. The researchers found that how women perceive men’s preferences influenced each woman’s body image independent of her actual body size and weight. “On average, heterosexual women believe that heterosexual men desire ultra-thin women,” says Meltzer.

The article, “Women’s body image tied to what they think men like: study,” was published Jan. 15.

Meltzer is an assistant professor in the SMU Department of Psychology.

Read the full story.

EXCERPT:

AFP RelaxNews
When told that men desire full-bodied, voluptuous figures, women felt better about their own weight, say researchers at Southern Methodist University in Texas.

“A woman’s body image is strongly linked to her perception of what she thinks men prefer,” says lead author and social psychologist Andrea Meltzer of SMU.

Heterosexual women, says Meltzer, tend to believe that men prefer the dieted-down, ultra-thin bodies that dominate the media.

“Consequently, this study suggests that interventions that alter women’s perception regarding men’s desires for ideal female body sizes may be effective at improving women’s body image,” she says.

This would be an important step for women’s health and well-being because prior research has shown that women with a positive image of their physique tend to eat healthier, exercise more and have a superior overall self-image.

On the flipside, those who are unhappy with their body have less sex, less sexual satisfaction and less marital satisfaction.

“It is possible that women who are led to believe that men prefer women with bodies larger than the models depicted in the media may experience higher levels of self-esteem and lower levels of depression,” says Meltzer.

Read the full story.

Follow SMUResearch.com on twitter at @smuresearch.

SMU is a nationally ranked private university in Dallas founded 100 years ago. Today, SMU enrolls nearly 11,000 students who benefit from the academic opportunities and international reach of seven degree-granting schools. For more information see www.smu.edu.

SMU has an uplink facility located on campus for live TV, radio, or online interviews. To speak with an SMU expert or book an SMU guest in the studio, call SMU News & Communications at 214-768-7650.

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Culture, Society & Family Health & Medicine Mind & Brain Researcher news SMU In The News

Huffington Post: Women’s Body Image Relies On Men’s Opinion, Study Finds

Prior research has shown that women with a positive image of their physique tend to eat healthier, exercise more and have a superior overall self-image.

Meltzer, SMU, women, body image, men, self esteem

The popular news site Huffington Post reported on the research of SMU social psychologist Andrea L. Meltzer, who was lead author on a new series of studies that found that telling women that men desire larger women who aren’t model-thin made the women feel better about their own weight.

Results of the three independent studies suggest a woman’s body image is strongly linked to her perception of what she thinks men prefer. The researchers found that how women perceive men’s preferences influenced each woman’s body image independent of her actual body size and weight. “On average, heterosexual women believe that heterosexual men desire ultra-thin women,” says Meltzer.

The article, “Women’s Body Image Relies On Men’s Opinion, Study Finds,” was published Jan. 15.

Meltzer is an assistant professor in the SMU Department of Psychology.

Read the full story.

EXCERPT:

AFP/Relaxnews
When told that men desire full-bodied, voluptuous figures, women felt better about their own weight, say researchers at Southern Methodist University in the US.

“A woman’s body image is strongly linked to her perception of what she thinks men prefer,” says lead author and social psychologist Andrea Meltzer of SMU.

Heterosexual women, says Meltzer, tend to believe that men prefer the dieted-down, ultra-thin bodies that dominate the media.

“Consequently, this study suggests that interventions that alter women’s perception regarding men’s desires for ideal female body sizes may be effective at improving women’s body image,” she says.

This would be an important step for women’s health and well-being because prior research has shown that women with a positive image of their physique tend to eat healthier, exercise more and have a superior overall self-image.

On the flipside, those who are unhappy with their body have less sex, less sexual satisfaction and less marital satisfaction.

“It is possible that women who are led to believe that men prefer women with bodies larger than the models depicted in the media may experience higher levels of self-esteem and lower levels of depression,” says Meltzer.

Read the full story.

Follow SMUResearch.com on twitter at @smuresearch.

SMU is a nationally ranked private university in Dallas founded 100 years ago. Today, SMU enrolls nearly 11,000 students who benefit from the academic opportunities and international reach of seven degree-granting schools. For more information see www.smu.edu.

SMU has an uplink facility located on campus for live TV, radio, or online interviews. To speak with an SMU expert or book an SMU guest in the studio, call SMU News & Communications at 214-768-7650.

Categories
Culture, Society & Family Health & Medicine Mind & Brain Researcher news SMU In The News

U.S. News: When Women Think Men Prefer Bigger Gals, They’re Happier With Their Weight

prior studies have suggested that women who are happy with their bodies tend to eat better, be more active, have more self-esteem, are less prone to depression, and shun eating disorders and excessive dieting.

Meltzer, SMU, USNews, bigger women, self-esteem, men

HealthDay writer Robert Preidt reported on the research of SMU social psychologist Andrea L. Meltzer for the news site U.S. News & World Report. Meltzer was lead author on a new series of studies that found that telling women that men desire larger women who aren’t model-thin made the women feel better about their own weight.

Results of the three independent studies suggest a woman’s body image is strongly linked to her perception of what she thinks men prefer. The researchers found that how women perceive men’s preferences influenced each woman’s body image independent of her actual body size and weight. “On average, heterosexual women believe that heterosexual men desire ultra-thin women,” says Meltzer.

The article, “When Women Think Men Prefer Bigger Gals, They’re Happier With Their Weight,” was published Jan. 15.

Meltzer is an assistant professor in the SMU Department of Psychology.

Read the full story.

EXCERPT:

By Robert Preidt
HealthDay

When it comes to how satisfied they are with their own bodies, notions women hold of what men look for in females may be key, a new study suggests.

Researchers at Southern Methodist University in Dallas found that women are happier with their weight if they believe that men prefer full-bodied women instead of those who are model-thin.

“Women who are led to believe that men prefer women with bodies larger than the models depicted in the media may experience higher levels of self-esteem and lower levels of depression,” lead researcher Andrea Meltzer, a social psychologist at Southern Methodist, said in a university news release.

The study included almost 450 women, the majority of whom were white, who were shown images of women who were either ultra-thin or larger-bodied.

Some women were also told by the researchers that men who had viewed the pictures had tended to prefer the thinner women, while others were told that men had preferred the larger women.

Both groups of women then completed a questionnaire meant to assess how they felt about their weight.

The result: women who were told that men prefer larger-bodied women were more satisfied with their own weight.

Read the full story.

Follow SMUResearch.com on twitter at @smuresearch.

SMU is a nationally ranked private university in Dallas founded 100 years ago. Today, SMU enrolls nearly 11,000 students who benefit from the academic opportunities and international reach of seven degree-granting schools. For more information see www.smu.edu.

SMU has an uplink facility located on campus for live TV, radio, or online interviews. To speak with an SMU expert or book an SMU guest in the studio, call SMU News & Communications at 214-768-7650.