Ever wonder why men find curvaceous women more attractive? Well, that’s because women with a curvy figure are brighter and give birth to brainier kids, according to a new study.

Scientists at the Universities of Pittsburgh and California found that women with large hips and small waists are cleverer than those with either “apple-shaped” or linear bodies.

The study, to be published in the journal Evolution and Human Behaviour, also discovered that curvaceous women give birth to more intelligent children because hip fat contains polyunsaturated fatty acids critical for the development of the fetus's brain.

The researchers believe that the results shed light on why many men find curvy women more alluring.

For the research, the team used data from a study of 16,000 women and girls, which collected details of their body measurements and their scores in cognitive tests.

They found that those women with a greater difference between the waist and hips scored considerably higher on the tests, as did their children.

The researchers say that the ideal ratio for an intelligent curvy woman lies between 0.6 and 0.7.

They suggest that the fat around fuller hips and thighs contains higher levels of omega3 fatty acids which are essential for the growth of the brain during pregnancy.

The team said that their findings may also explain why children born to teenage mothers do worse in cognitive tests - because their mothers may have had deficient stores of the best fatty acids.

“The cognitive development of their children is reduced, and their own cognitive development is impaired compared with those mothers with a later first birth,” Times Online quoted the researchers, as saying.

The study noted, however, that children born to teenage girls with traditional hourglass figures seemed to be protected from this phenomenon and fared better in tests.

想知道为什么男人对性感、曲线美的女人更感兴趣吗？一项最新研究发现，那是因为曲线优美的女性更聪明，而且所生的孩子也更聪明。

匹斯堡和加利福尼亚大学的科学家们发现，拥有“S形”身材的女性比那些“苹果形”或“竹竿”身材的女性更聪明。

该研究结果将在《进化与人类行为》期刊上发表。研究还发现，身体曲线优美的女性所生的孩子也更聪明，这主要是因为臀部脂肪中所含的多不饱和脂肪酸对胎儿大脑的发育至关重要。

研究人员认为，该结果能够解释为什么很多男性认为身体曲线突出的女性更具吸引力。

研究人员对1.6万名女性的“三围”数据及她们在认知测试中的得分进行了分析。

研究人员发现，腰部与臀部尺寸差别较大的女性在认知测试中的得分明显较高，这些女性所生的孩子也是如此。

研究人员称，这些女性腰部与臀部的比例都在0.6至0.7之间。

据研究人员介绍，较丰满的臀部和大腿周围的脂肪中所含的Omega3型脂肪酸更多，这种脂肪酸对于胎儿大脑的发育具有重要作用。

研究小组称，研究结果还可以解释为什么少女妈妈所生的孩子在认知测试中的表现较差——这可能是因为少女妈妈的臀部所积蓄的有益脂肪酸量不够。

《泰晤士报》网站在报道中援引研究人员的话说：“这造成孩子的认知发育减缓，与那些晚生育的女性相比，少女妈妈自身的智力发展也受到损害。”

然而，研究指出，“沙漏形”身材的少女妈妈所生的孩子则似乎没有出现这种现象，他们在认知测试中的表现还不错。