FATTIES have most SUCCESS with opposite SEX! Have some pies and SCORE

Yet more great news today for those assessed as fatties by the now massively discredited Body Mass Index (BMI) system: you're probably more successful with the opposite sex than your undernourished contemporaries. We learn this from a new study by trick-cyclists in California, who surveyed 60,058 heterosexual men and women …

[Anonymous Coward]

North America. Nough said

[Anonymous Coward]

That is one angle

The other one is that number of partners is an approximation of the likelihood of being dumped.

So, one possible interpretation of the data is that less obese people get dumped less often so they do not need to switch that often.

[AndrueC]

Re: That is one angle

Perhaps it just reflects desperation? Maybe those in the 'healthy' range have a stable partner that satisfies their needs whereas those in the 'not so healthy' range have to resort to frequent bar crawling or the less well illuminated parts of town in order to get their rocks off.

[alain williams]

Re: That is one angle

Maybe cause and effect is the other way round: it is being with a woman that makes a man fat.

[Message From A Self-Destructing Turnip]

Re: That is one angle

Nah its far simpler, greedy c*nts will eat or f*ck everything that they possibly can.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: That is one angle

That agrees with my experience: women like to feed me AND my cooking skills are zero. My healthiest weight was as a poor student - when I survived on bread, cheese, apples and coleslaw (none of which need cooking!)

[Glenturret Single Malt]

Re: That is one angle

Just what I was thinking. As I read it, the people surveyed were all in a relationship at the time and no account was taken of any changes since that relationship was formed.

[Grikath]

Re: That is one angle

Nope.. the correct angle.. The US as a whole has gotten so fat, it's shifted the perception of "attractive" towards what the rest of the world would call "chubby".

[Bleu]

Re: That is one angle

'Chubby', like 'curvy', a great euphemism for 'grossly obese'.

[Mexflyboy]

Re: That is one angle

Ha! Some skinny person is a wee bit bitter... ;-)

[werdsmith]

Re: That is one angle

I don't count in the bitter category having been married to a fine woman for 16 years.

But I would suggest that the bloaters would probably be considered more accessible (which is a nice way of saying they are easy). I do understand that the people that get the most lays tend to be the chubby-chasers. The porkers probably have more self esteem issues which keeps relationships short and causes churn.

[Anonymous Coward]

I think I might get into the business of American dating kits. A bag of flour, a plank with straps, a tyre lever, and step ladders spring to mind as likely high demand items...

[SuccessCase]

I think this simply reveals the tactic of sitting on a partner so they can't escape your advances is far more prevalent than anyone previously realised.

[Anonymous Coward]

"Why can't people just love me for who I am and not care how fat I am?", regular complaint of fat north American women.

Obviously it's not just that, it's the fact you are far more likely to f around that puts me off further. Science says.

[Mexflyboy]

From living in the UK for 15 years now, I can say my fellow Brits themselves are giving the USAians a run for their chubby money... I used to have problems finding clothes in my Rubenesque size 15 years ago, whereas now I am in chubbyland.

[Your alien overlord - fear me]

Fat blokes like fat hookers. Science says so.

[Bleu]

So they all

fetishize a particular rugby position?

[TheProf]

I always tell the truth in surveys

I do. Honestly!

[DanceMan]

I note that this survey measures quantity, not quality.

[Anonymous Coward]

@DanceMan

You've obviously never heard the phrase, never mind the quality feel the width, which is even more appropriate here.

[Sir Runcible Spoon]

Agreed, I read the info and immediately thought that the survey was measuring the inability to *keep* a partner (i.e. the more partners you have the less you are able to maintain a steady relationship).

This assumption also assumes some kind of moral strength (i.e. one partner at a time etc.) for generalisation purposes :)

[Anonymous Coward]

Came to say the same: "more successful with the opposite sex" != "the number of sexual partners they'd had"

I'd argue the opposite. Success tends to one, while a smattering of revolting drunken one-night flabfests and a procession of cheap whores does not come anywhere near my idea of "success"

Sounds like the trick cyclists have outdone themselves.

[Palpy]

Yeah, that was my take too -- more sexual partners often (usually?) = poor success at sexual relationships.

I'm not interested enough to read the paper, but perhaps one might look instead at the frequency of sex with a committed partner, or at overall sexual satisfaction.

"Correlating" one body measurement with one behavioral measurement is damned iffy, yes? Sexual activity is complex, especially for certain cetaceans, mollusks, dragonfiles, and fetishists. Drawing simple conclusions is probably best left for simple minds.

[P. Lee]

> more sexual partners often (usually?) = poor success at sexual relationships.

Now you're just undermining the music industry.

The current crop seems particularly odd with TayTay's self esteem so low she's quite happy to sleep with someone she knows is going to dump her; someone else asking his girlfriend if she'll stick by him if he goes to jail or whether she's willing to die for him (presumably he wants her to take the rap for murder he committed) and yes, you may be young and you are stupid for not getting more than a private verbal commitment - of course he was going to lie in that context.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: > more sexual partners often (usually?) = poor success at sexual relationships.

WTF did I just read? Am I supposed to understand that or know who Tay Tay is. Google might be my friend but, no, I'm not going to even look.

[Eddy Ito]

Re: > more sexual partners often (usually?) = poor success at sexual relationships.

According to DDG, Taytay could be either of two municipalities in the Philippines. It doesn't help me understand any better either.

[fishman]

"I note that this survey measures quantity, not quality."

Sort of the McDonalds of sex.

[Anonymous Coward]

Counting partners....

Might not be the best metric for "pulling success", it may be that the skinnies are staying together because they're happy with the selection whereas fatties are constantly hunting something with fewer folds of lard.

However, as Zappa said, "The bigger the cushion the better the pushin'".

[Anonymous Coward]

Isn't this just because ...

... all the fatties are having bed-breaking sex with each other? Whilst the healthy people (a) aren't getting pissed (UK sense = drunk) on a regular basis (staying sober *really* lowers your success rate, possibly because it doesn't lower your 'acceptance criteria') and (b) for lower BMIs the answer to "Fancy a shag tonight?" is one of: (exercise freaks) "Hmm, tempting, but I've gotta get to the gym"; (footballers) "Sorry honey but I've got a groin strain"; (people who do a lot of physical work, like Mrs Coward) "You've got to be joking, I've shovelled 1 tonne of horse shit, ridden three horses and swept the yard twice and I'm knackered"

[Silviu C.]

People lie yo!

Here's the obvious problem with this research:

"The researchers **asked** the respondents their height, weight and the number of sexual partners they'd had, among other things."

People fucking lie! All the time!

In this case weight and height could be verified. But number of sex partners... NOPE

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: People lie yo!

Yo Silviu C dude,

We seriously tried to do the whole survey thing without like actually asking or anything.

Just to far out for the norms, the man stuffed us and we totally ended up asking 'cos we like wanted an answer.

[James Micallef]

Re: People lie yo!

"The researchers **asked** the respondents "

What rubbish science! The researchers should have embedded an accelerometer in the subjects' pelvises, a webcam between their eyes, and some Internet-of-things chippery to send all the data* back to headquarters for analyses.

*No doubt unencrypted and easily accesible by anyone else

[Sir Runcible Spoon]

Re: People lie yo!

" to send all the data* back to headquarters for analyses"

A new type of helmet cam? Oh dear, I think I just grossed myself out...

[Mark 85]

Re: People lie yo!

I'm thinking along those lines also. The one thing I note is that they didn't ask the respondents about their "partners" for the evening. I'm wondering if things are skewed a bit by wishful thinking or to make themselves appear to be more successful then they are.

One has to remember the words of Lazarus Long: "Everyone lies about sex".

[Zog_but_not_the_first]

BMI

Is US BMI the same as European BMI, or is it like many other stateside measures?

[TitterYeNot]

Re: BMI

"Is US BMI the same as European BMI, or is it like many other stateside measures?"

No - European BMI is 'Body Mass Index', in the US it's 'Butt Magnitude Indicator'.

Joking aside, I'm not one to talk, with my expanding middle-age midriff. I'm just relieved to find out that I was right all along, and that studies such as this are finally proving that it is just relaxed muscle after all.

<Coughs>

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: BMI

"Is US BMI the same as European BMI, or is it like many other stateside measures?"

US gallons and pints are smaller than British gallons and pints, though in the usual IP land grab US children are taught "a pint weighs a pound, the whole world round."

[TheVogon]

Re: BMI

"a pint weighs a pound, the whole world round."

They might want to compare the weight of a pint of air and a pint of mercury.....

[Paul Crawford]

Re: BMI

I know excess drinking is bad for you, but a pint of Hg? Strewth!

[JetSetJim]

A sure candidate for the ...

IG Nobel award.

Holes abound in the research, going by what is reported here, but an entertaining read nonetheless.

[hatti]

Who ate all the pies

I look forward to reading a future article on the impending world pie shortage.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Who ate all the pies

Never mind the pies, what about the missing Viz reference?

(AC because sexist fat shaming wins me a crucifixion)

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Who ate all the pies

Oh Lordy...

[A Non e-mouse]

BMI

The key problem with this is the BMI score: It doesn't tell you if the weight is from fat or muscle. Without that key piece of information, you don't know if all these "obese" people having copious sex are lard-arses or muscular men/women.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: BMI

It also assumes that you're two-dimensional.

[frank ly]

Re: BMI

"It also assumes that you're two-dimensional."

From Lewis: "... it assumes that healthy weight should scale up in relation to the square of height - a patently absurd idea, ..."

The square of height thing seems to assume that we're modelled as a cylinder, which is not a bad approximation - and that's all it is, an approximation to let a doctor/nurse or yourself obtain a quick and easy measure for comparison purposes. It's also only appropriate for someone around average height and build, not a particularly tall or muscular man or woman.

The last time my doctor had a good look at me (almost naked), she said I could do with having a bit more weight. I pointed out that my BMI was 23 and she went very quiet. I didn't point out that she was a bit of a porker and that people tend to want to see themselves as 'normal'.

[The Vociferous Time Waster]

Re: BMI

Even a cylinder is a cubic function where as BMI is a square so your argument is pretty much invalid.

[DanDanDan]

Re: BMI

Even a cylinder is a cubic function where as BMI is a square so your argument is pretty much invalid.

The increase of a cylinder with respect to length is actually linear. Double the length of a cylinder and its volume doubles. If you double the radius only, then it's quadratic. If you increase its length and radius in proportion, then after dividing by the length (as you would to calculate BMI), then it's back to quadratic again.

[Sir Runcible Spoon]

Re: BMI

Se we are looking at some kind of cone shape then?

[100113.1537]

Re: BMI

"The last time my doctor had a good look at me (almost naked), she said I could do with having a bit more weight. I pointed out that my BMI was 23 and she went very quiet."

Exactly. BMI should be trashed as a measure of health and your doctor was embarrassed by having you point it out. It might have worked for 18-25 year old people 20 years ago, but it is completely inappropriate now. Even more so since the thresholds were dropped (yes, dropped not increased) in 2000. You would have been borderline underweight in 1999.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: BMI

Not really, the range 18.5 to 25 is very wide and the ENTIRE POINT OF BMI is to not rely on subjective impressions from anyone regardless of who they are but instead to rely on something measurable. The percentage of people who are elite power athletes is tiny.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: BMI

That's a reasonable question to ask for the men; but muscle-bound women are few and far between, so it's unlikely to be a factor for them.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: "muscle-bound women are few..."

I read somewhere that hip to waist ratio was the biggest single factor in female attractiveness (at least, for a silhouette). So putting on a couple of pounds in the rear is, within reason, going to get a lady more carnal interest.

[A Non e-mouse]

@A/C Re: "muscle-bound women are few..."

The fashion industry thinks that super skinny/anorexic women are sexy. They've brain-washed girls into thinking that men want stick-thin women and if you're not a size 6 you're over-weight.

All the blokes I've spoken to* say that they want women with curves, not bean-poles.

*Admittedly a not very scientific survey

[Anonymous Coward]

From the people who brought you the "Half a pound of Dairy Milk and a bottle of Buckfast" detox

Yeah- even if it smacks of wanting to have their cake and eat it, at least El Reg acknowledges the study- and hence story's- meaninglessness in the first line. That is, BMI's well-known flaws that render it incredibly misleading when applied to individuals as opposed to the population studies it was intended for.

You can bet that neither this, nor the issue of the subjects' self-reporting, will be given prominence in Daily Mail type sources (and even more "reputable" newspapers and sites) when it becomes the latest "chocolate/red-wine is good for you" style story to selectively pick at the facts and tell people what they want to hear.

(Like the "red wine" story where you'd have to drink massive amounts of wine to get the "good" chemical and avoid all the other stuff that was in it. Or the chocolate story that discusses the effect of a single square of 85%-cocoa-solids dark chocolate that barely contains any fat or sugar- you *know* damn well that two weeks later all people will remember is "chocolate is good for you, so it's okay for me to stuff my face with this 200g bar of Dairy Milk"... my suspicion on that matter was confirmed when someone at work said pretty much that).

[Vic]

Re: From the people who brought you the "Half a pound of Dairy Milk and a bottle of Buckfast" detox

Like the "red wine" story where you'd have to drink massive amounts of wine to get the "good" chemical

Challenge accepted...

Vic.

[Nick Kew]

Re: BMI

My BMI is over the threshold and into obese, and the paunch confirms it. So when the ladies admiringly note how much I'm not wearing ("aren't you freezing?") I just point to my healthy layer of natural, organic insulation.

What was more surprising was when they tested my body fat and found it firmly in the healthy range, or what wikipedia describes as "fitness". Seems the insulation layer really is healthy.

[A Non e-mouse]

@Nick Kew Re: BMI

Seems the insulation layer really is healthy

Absolutely!

There have been studies that show that having too little fat is bad for you. Skinny people are more likely to get ill as their body's have little reserve to draw on when fighting infection.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: BMI

This is America, in the internet age. Educated guess: these folks are lard-asses :)

[J.G.Harston]

Statistics

People around the population mean of body size are around the population mean of sexual partners shocker. Film at ten.

[knarf]

Maybe....

Fat people are just less fussy of what they put in their holes.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Maybe....

Christ!

Code brainbleach on thread 2651040

[Sir Runcible Spoon]

Re: Maybe....

New keyboard please :)

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Maybe....

I was going to put it in terms of hedonism and possibly lower willpower on average, but it amounts to the same argument.

[Sir Sham Cad]

Bullshit Measurement Idea

According to my BMI I'm just into the "Overweight" category. I'm a properly skinny bastard.

Previous studies have shown again and again that the majority of heterosexual men like women with curves. That is, after all, one of the secondary sexual characteristics of females. It follows that, in order to have curves, you'll need to be well toward the top end of "overweight" or higher.

Likewise, when I enrolled at my local GP, the nurse took the usual measurements of heigh, weight etc... and scored my BMI. Looking at me in nothing but my tasteful superhero underpants she told me to ignore it because "muscle weighs more than fat". I'm not a gym nut. I'm a skinny nerd. If I'm BMI "overweight" then a bigger (or even normal size) healthy bloke who takes care of himself is certainly going to be well into the "overweight" category according to the Bullshit Measurement Idea.

So to summarise this study: BMI calls healthy, attractive people "obese" because it's a load of fucking bollocks that should have been thrown out long ago.

[graeme leggett]

Low quality work?

Dodgy data collecting? Since it is known that BMI is not accurate (of itself) for the athletic build. It's still a good measure for those who need two bus seats or who think a plate of nachos in each hand is a balanced meal.

In other words, did a bunch of Greek demi-gods skew the data? You can't tell Word to investigators, try again but this time ask waist size as well.

I note the data came from "an online survey" advertised as "advertised as the “ELLE/MSNBC.com Sex and Love Survey designed for both men and women" - Alarm bells ringing as to representative surveying yet?

PS recent work on reproducibility in psychological sciences shows "Fewer than half of the original findings were successfully replicated"

http://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2015/august/reproducibility-of-psychology-studies.html

Also covered on recent BBC Radio 4 "More or Less"

[Tom 38]

Re: Low quality work?

How many people actually know their real waist size, and not just what size the clothes they buy say they are? My US bought Levis profess a "waist" of 32", but a) they sit on my hips, not my waist and b) my hips are at least 4" bigger than that (M&S 36"). "fashion sizing" I think they call it - apparently lying to people about how tubby they are inflates their confidence and makes them more likely to buy..

[Yugguy]

Personality

This is because the fat XOR ugly have had to develop personalities to enable them to get some.

And to be fair there's nothing worse than someone beautiful but vacuous. Or worse unpleasant.

Obviously I am both handsome AND charismatic and I get sex ALL THE TIME. Honest.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Personality

"And to be fair there's nothing worse than someone beautiful but vacuous. Or worse unpleasant."

Eh? I take it you've never met a vacuous, unpleasant fugly? They exist. Be afraid...

[nijam]

Re: Personality

> I take it you've never met a vacuous, unpleasant fugly? They exist.

And, worst of all, they go on and on about how they're being victimised for it.

[Yugguy]

And besides

As everyone knows, the best way to get laid is to drink bitter:

http://www.macclads.co.uk/hectic_house/lyrics/lyrics_alpha/fail.html

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: And besides

Last anniversary my wife told me to buy something which would make her look good.

So I got drunk.

[tentimes]

Methinks Fatties are lying

Bigger porkies!

[Werner McGoole]

And there's more... maybe

If you're ever around town as schools are emptying of an afternoon and observe the typical mothers trailing their kids home, you might notice that on average they* tend to be a bit, err, mountainous.

A non-scientific observation, certainly, but I suspect that the advantage of being overweight or obese might extend to reproductive success too.

*The mothers that is, not the kids. I've yet to observe any largely obese group of school kids, despite what the campaigners tell us.

[Sir Runcible Spoon]

Re: And there's more... maybe

They might be pushing the boundaries *because* they have had children you know.

[Anonymous Coward]

I read another survey recently that said heftier men lasted longer in bed too. Is this a Curvy Rotund and Undulating Marketing Board campaign, I wonder?

[Anonymous Coward]

Presumably the stopwatch is running for the half hour it takes them to find it... and the next half hour while they find where to put it?...

[werdsmith]

"Presumably the stopwatch is running for the half hour it takes them to find it... and the next half hour while they find where to put it?..."

Apparently the "where to put it" problem is easily solved with the aid of some talcum powder and a good fart.

[TonkaToys]

"And for our female readers"

That's a good one

[MyffyW]

Re: "And for our female readers"

@TonkaToys at least you used the joke icon, hun.

As a regular eater of Yorkie bars (regardless of the "not for..." label) I am pretty relaxed about my curves. The great thing about carrying a few extra pounds when you have two XX chromosomes is it tends to settle on the more interesting parts of ones anatomy.

[Sir Runcible Spoon]

Re: "And for our female readers"

"it tends to settle on the more interesting parts of ones anatomy."

So you like having big eyebags??

Oh..you were assuming we would all assume you meant your tits or something yes? :)

Personally speaking, my favourite 'bit' of my wife is that little curve between the shoulder and neck...nibbleicious!

[MyffyW]

Re: "And for our female readers"

...and I wish you and Mrs Spoon all the best with your nibbles, @Sir_Runcible. Have an upvote, it's time for afternoon tea.

[Anonymous Coward]

They didn't ask their age. Maybe skinny people in their 20s had lots of sex, and now in their 40s they've settled down and got fat. It doesn't mean they had lots of partners whilst fat.

[BasicChimpTheory]

Or that older people are typically fatter than they were when young and have had more time for doing it like the dirty pigeons.

[Mutton Jeff]

Phat!

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh thank goodness

Previously I thought it was because I am a horrible, hateful, spiteful, distrusting person who won't play social games, when in reality it's just because I'm BMI <30

Phew.

Hate you BTW.

[The Vociferous Time Waster]

Desperate times

Nothing melts a girls knicker elastic better than daddy issues and low self esteem. In some cases that translates into eating disorders (and from there springs the stripper community) or drugs (hookers) but for most it means comfort eating and that is where we get our mopeds from.

[Sir Runcible Spoon]

Re: Desperate times

Even though you are trolling, you still have issues dude.

[anonymous boring coward]

Sliding norms.

If you are thin, you may be perceived as being sickly, or too poor to eat well.

Today's carb loaded fatty is the norm. Fat also helps filling out those wrinkles, until you die early and the worms take it all away.

Now, if you have bulging muscles, this will make you look ok despite being lean. Did they look into that body version, or is it too unusual?

[Anonymous Coward]

Theory

Potential partner looks at someone with extended girth and thinks "They're not likely to run away"

[Nick Kew]

Sir John in Love

How come noone has yet mentioned that great archetype of the huge fatty who gets plenty of ladies, Sir John Falstaff?

[disgruntled yank]

Re: Sir John in Love

You mean as in "Is it not strange that desire should so many years outlive performance?" (Henry IV part II, Act 2, Scene 4).

And if one can believe Sir John (who prefaces it by saying "how subject we old men are to the vice of lying"), the skinny ones, e.g. the young Shallow, get their share: "I do remember him at Clement's Inn like a man made after supper of a cheese-paring: when a' was naked, he was, for all the world, like a forked radish, with a head fantastically carved upon it with a knife: a' was so forlorn, that his dimensions to any thick sight were invincible: a' was the very genius of famine; yet lecherous as a monkey, and the whores called him mandrake..." (Act 3, Scene 2)

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Sir John in Love

Pwned by Shakespeare.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Sir John in Love

Falstaff had cash (he stole money for the fun of it) and hung around with a bunch of prostitutes. (Mistress Quickly on the perils of the public "mis-understanding" of how she provided lodgings for seamstresses - '... the prick of their needles but it will be thought we keep a bawdy house ')

I don't think it was only his girth that attracted the ladies.

[Jediben]

Think how much

Flour they must get through!

[Hans Neeson-Bumpsadese]

In America

Survey was done in America, which so far as I'm aware, has more than its fair share of chubsters...isn't this just a weight of numbers thing? (excuse the pun)

[Infernoz]

BMI is useless, it's waist:height and FAT:weight ratios which matter

BMI is obsolete and retarded just like the obsolete and retarded Calorie measurement, so shame on anyone still using these, especially the medical profession!

A significant proportion in developed countries are growing fatter because of evil food/drink manufacturers, Estrogen mimic chemical pollution and less exercise; this may shift some preferences, however less fat people still look sexier.

I wonder how many of those fatties are lying, hmm...

Proper Fat/Muscle/Water/Bone signal scales show the real ugly or kind truth; Bluetooth ones are not expensive, especially in Aldi and Lidl, and I'm using mine to measure my fat ratio so that can see what does and doesn't work for fat loss, for my over weight.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: BMI is useless, it's waist:height and FAT:weight ratios which matter

At a fitness class the instructor proudly produced a set of these fancy scales. I was the first to get on the scales. The scales did their thing and produced its figures. The instructor looked at the figures, looked at me and said "We won't bother with these scales".

[Stevie]

Bah!

Typical Lewis Page denialist claptrap that flies in the face of established sciewait, what?

This is the truest thing on the interwebs. I know, for I am 250 lbs of stud-muffinery withan extensive portfolio of techniques to bring a woman as close to seeing god as she can get while still breathing (heavily).

Don't tell Mrs Stevie I wrote this. She says that the last time she saw a bod like mine sans culottes it was hanging from the Empire State building swatting aeoplanes.

[Anonymous Coward]

Lets see the same study run with homosexual men and women and see how it differs.

[Diogenes]

Overweight and Obesity in Sexual-Minority Women: Evidence From Population-Based Data ...

Objective. We sought to determine whether lesbians have higher rates of overweight and obesity than women of other sexual orientations.

Methods. We compared population estimates of overweight and obesity across sexual orientation groups, using data from the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth.

Results. Adjusted multinomial logistic regression analyses showed lesbians have more than twice the odds of overweight (odds ratio [OR]=2.69; 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.40, 5.18) and obesity (OR=2.47; 95% CI=1.19, 5.09) as heterosexual women. Bisexuals and women who reported their sexual orientation as “something else” (besides heterosexual, lesbian, or bisexual) showed no such increase in the odds of overweight and obesity.

Conclusions. Lesbian women have a higher prevalence of overweight and obesity than all other female sexual orientation groups. This finding suggests that lesbians are at greater risk for morbidity and mortality linked to overweight and obesity. This finding also highlights the need for interventions within this population.

[Anonymous Coward]

There's always the possibility that the "Normal" people are happy with their "Normal" partners.

What they _should_ have asked is "How much jigjig?"

(I'm working on getting back down to Overweight right now. Normal would require me to do more portion control. 8 years of the low-density USA, marriage and lack of willpower had sent me from Normal to Obese 1.)

[Antonymous Coward]

It's not the portions you need to control: That's a lie from the obesity industry to keep you hooked for the rest of your pathetic wobbling, puffing and lucrative little life. McDonalds, Weightwatchers (which insists on tricking fatties into replacing essential lipids with addictive, worthless sugars. Read the ingredients not the lobbying information) , USDA, etc..

It's the content you must control. Completely eliminate, exclude and banish all grain (inc. maize) derivatives, sweeteners and, until you're back on track, spuds. Then carry on eating all you want. You'll be fine. You'll soon find there's a cornucopia of delicious stuff to eat that ISN'T cheap addictive shit pushed by a predatory industry.

Good luck.

[Vic]

Completely eliminate, exclude and banish all grain

Give up beer?

I think not, young padawan...

Vic.

[Youngdog]

No news here

In some cultures women prefer men with a bit extra on them as it would indicate they have the resources to fund a more opulent lifestyle

[Drudgery Leak]

I've been told my ale belly is nice to cuddle up to at night.

And I adore curvy women.

[Anonymous Coward]

In my long lifetime's experience it is fat women who tend to be the most promiscuous. There often seems to be an insecurity factor that possibly derives from being fat - or they are fat because of that insecurity driving comfort eating. Anecdotal - so not a scientific study.

[Mark 85]

There was, IIRC, a study some years ago that pointed at hormones... Not sure it's valid was just more number-crunching and data-fiddling though.

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't grow a pot

or I'll punch you in the belly!

[Anonymous Coward]

Fortunately nobody has ever exaggerated their number of sexual partners to compensate for some inadequacy.

The only discredited thing about BMI is people who don't understand what it is, what it measures and fantasise that because it has less directly predictive use with elite power athletes/bodybuilders (in the short term) that this somehow makes everyone with 26+ BMI an elite power athlete/bodybuilder.

[JakHaxz]

Well it's confirmed then

It's got to be my face that holding me back.

[Big_Boomer]

Red Dwarf

Rimmer = skinny. Lister = fat. Nuff said?

[phil dude]

Re: Red Dwarf

Rimmer = hologram, Lister = vindaloo-a-holic.

P.

[Vic]

Re: Red Dwarf

Rimmer = skinny. Lister = fat. Nuff said?

KRYTEN: Would you describe the accused as a friend?

LISTER: No, I would describe the accused as a git.

KRYTEN: Who would you say, then, is the person who thinks of him most fondly?

LISTER: Me.

Vic.

[T. F. M. Reader]

Has anyone checked...

...whether being trim and healthy is positively correlated with being truthful about past sexual experiences?

[lotus49]

One sexual relationship in 32 years

I've only had one sexual relationship in the last 32 years (I should point out that it has lasted 32 years - it wasn't a one night stand 32 years ago) and I have to say that I would regard that as a success. I also sit firmly in the middle of the BMI chart despite being tall.

One thing that this research does show is that being plump, while it may or may not result in short relationships, does not result in no relationships. However, in a country where almost everyone is overweight, people don't have much choice other than go thirsty.

[Jediben]

Re: One sexual relationship in 32 years

I didn't think masturbation was counted?

[TheVogon]

Re: One sexual relationship in 32 years

"I've only had one sexual relationship in the last 32 years (I should point out that it has lasted 32 years)"

That will teach you not to play with Superglue whilst watching porn!

[Anonymous Coward]

Here's my simplistic take on this

Four possible heterosexual scenarios

Normal male / normal female

Male usually too over-awed to approach female who he thinks will turn him down anyway so why bother. Female got her head so far up her own backside thinks why should she make the first move. Beer might overcome initial reluctance on the part of the male but have other detrimental effects. Result, no/poor sex.

Normal male/ fat female.

Let's face it, men will shag anything, however he's unlikely to ask but if she does it's on. Some sex.

So far the fatties are in front in terms of quality and quantity.

Fat male / normal female.

No brainer. No sex, not even out of pity.

Fat male / fat female.

Hey, what have they got to lose? Loads of uninhibited sex.

Fatties win hands down, or whatever other position they can get themselves into without the need for lifting gear, or with it for that matter.

[Vic]

Re: Here's my simplistic take on this

Beer might overcome initial reluctance on the part of the male but have other detrimental effects. Result, no/poor sex.

I think you might be drinking the wrong stuff...

Vic.

[Mike Moyle]

"We learn this from a new study by trick-cyclists in California..."

"'It may be initially surprising that more overweight men reported the highest number of partners,' comments David Frederick, psychology prof..."

Would this, then, be Dr. Frederick, of Hollywood?

[Anonymous Coward]

Double win.

Not only are us robustly built folk more successful with the opposite sex, we have bacon too.

[Bleu]

This reminds me of a conversation

with a still fondly regarded girlfriend when overseas.

I commented that so many Americans seemed to have such amazingly adventurous sex lives.

She wisely pointed out that the adventurers tend to be like those on the least desirable side of Rikki [sp?] Lake's studio audience on her TV show of the time.

[DocJD]

A better study would have been to show people a set of photos with a range of body types and ask them which they'd RATHER have sex with. I think the results would differ from this study.

[LaeMing]

Where's mine then?

#fattiesrights

[Vic]

Re: Where's mine then?

I'll get the van started...

Vic.

[JustWondering]

Then again ...

... maybe bigger people are bigger liars.

[MrDamage]

Get more? Or lie more?

What's a fatty more likely to say?

I get tons of rumpy pumpy?

Or

I'm so fat I need to stand over a mirror to reacquaint myself with what my gentials look like?

[David Roberts]

TL;DR

Late to the party, so haven't read all the comments, but a couple of points.

(1) I get the impression that they measured BMI now, not when the porkers were allegedly getting all the action. Too much shagging makes you hungry?

(2) No mention of sexual orientation. Allegedly gay people can be more promiscuous than straight people at times. So is the conclusion that fat people are gay?

Mine's the one with the Medium label......

[Anonymous Coward]

3)

Fat people do sometimes find it harder to get pregnant, and once they do it can cause serious problems on the pre-natal scans as well as during delivery,

What that means for the species is open for debate however it does make me wonder if in 150 years BMI will return to "normal" along with ginger hair going extinct.

[Mussie (Ed)]

CRAP

As a fat bastard I can assure you that fat men have fuck all chance unless your rich....

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: CRAP

.. your rich what? Uncle?