身材窈窕的女性更聰明
It was already known that men find curvy women more attractive and that they live longer. Now research suggests that women with an hourglass figure are brighter and have cleverer children, too.
曲線優美的女性在男性眼中更具吸引力，並且壽命較長，這已經是不爭的事實。現在一項研究顯示，擁有沙漏形身材的女性更爲聰慧，她們生出的寶寶也更聰明。
The study found that women with large hips and small waists are more intelligent than those with either “apple-shaped” or linear bodies.
這項研究發現，那些臀部豐滿、腰身纖細的女性比“蘋果形”或上下一樣粗的女性更加聰明。
The paper, to be published in the journal Evolution and Human Behaviour , suggests that such women give birth to more intelligent children - possibly a result of higher levels of omega3 fatty acids on the hips.
這一研究結果發表在《進化與人類行爲》雜誌上。文章揭示出沙漏形女性生出的孩子更加聰明，原因可能是她們臀部積聚的Ω3脂肪酸的水平較高。
The researchers believe that the results offer a new explanation for why many men find curvy women more alluring. Nigella Lawson, the cookery presenter and Oxford University graduate, has one of Britain’s most famous hourglass figures, while Rachel Weisz, the curvy actress who won an Oscar for her role in The Constant Gardener, completed an English degree at Cambridge University while embarking on the first stages of her acting career.
研究人員相信上述結果爲曲線優美的女性在男性眼中更具吸引力這一現象提供了新的解釋。娜傑拉勞森是一位烹飪節目主持人，獲得牛津大學碩士學位，她是英國著名的擁有沙漏形身材的女性之一；瑞切爾薇茲是一位曲線優美的女演員，因出演《不朽的園丁》獲奧斯卡獎，她在開始演藝生涯第一階段的同時獲得了劍橋大學英語學位。
In the research, scientists at the Universities of Pittsburgh and California, Santa Barbara, 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 significantly higher on the tests, as did their children.
在這項研究中，來自匹茲堡大學、加州大學聖塔芭芭拉分校的科學家們對1.6萬名女性進行了數據採集，蒐集到她們的身材數據及在認知測試中的得分。他們發現腰部和臀部尺寸差異明顯的女性在認知測試中得分明顯較高，她們的孩子也是如此。
Such women are not necessarily skinny. What is important is that their waist should be smaller than their hips, with the ideal ratio being between 0.6 and 0.7.
曲線優美的女性未必全是皮包骨頭，但有一點很重要，即她們腰圍一定要比臀圍小，最佳比例在0.6 至0.7之間。
The researchers suggest that the fat around fuller hips and thighs holds higher levels of omega3 fatty acids which are essential for the growth of the brain during pregnancy. Fat around the waist may have higher levels of omega6 fatty acids, which are less suited to brain growth.
研究人員說，豐滿的臀部和大腿周圍的脂肪含有水平較高的Ω3脂肪酸，這種脂肪酸是女性懷孕期間嬰兒大腦發育的必要物質。腰部周圍的脂肪含有較高的Ω6脂肪酸，不適宜嬰兒的腦部發育。
Waist fat can also be a contributory factor in diabetes and heart disease. Thinner or linear-shaped women would simply lack enough of either type of fat.
腰部脂肪是引發糖尿病或心臟病的元兇之一。身材偏瘦或上下一樣粗的女性容易缺乏足夠的Ω3或Ω6型脂肪。
Although these theories await confirmation, Paula Hall, a sexual and relationship psychologist with Relate, said: “Having research that proves you can be sexy and intelligent is really positive. It shows that curvy women may be better at things other than raising children and doing cooking and housework.”
雖然上述理論仍有待進一步證實，供職於Relate研究性與雙性關係的心理學家保羅霍爾說：“有研究結果能夠證明女性既可性感又能夠頭腦聰明，這的確是個好消息。這就是說，曲線優美的女性除了擅長撫養孩子、做飯和操持家務外，在其它事情上也可能更勝一籌。”
The research may also explain why children born to teenage mothers do worse in cognitive tests: their mothers may have had insufficient stores of the best fatty acids.
這項研究同時解釋了少女媽媽所生的孩子在認知測試中表現較差的原因：他們母親體內沒有儲備足夠的最佳脂肪酸。
“The cognitive development of their children is reduced, and their own cognitive development is impaired compared with those mothers with a later first birth,” say the researchers.
研究人員說：“比起那些晚生頭胎的女性，少女媽媽所生的孩子認知發展減緩，同時她們自身的認知發展也不健全。”
The study noted, however, that children born to teenage girls with traditional hourglass figures seemed to be protected from this phenomenon and did better in tests.
但這項研究也發現那些擁有沙漏形身材的少女媽媽生出的孩子不存在認知發展緩慢的問題，他們在認知測試中表現良好。
A number of scientific studies have shown that men are “hard-wired” to find women with a greater waist-hip differential the most attractive. No one has yet been able to explain this, although theories include enhanced fertility, better childbearing abilities and longer life expectancy.
許多科學研究顯示，男性會本能地認定那些腰臀比例相差較大的女性更具吸引力。儘管人們設想生育率、優生能力及預期壽命更長與身材比例有關，但目前爲止尚無人能解釋曲線優美的女性在男性眼中更具吸引力這一現象。
