Do the Low WHRs and BMIs Judged Most Attractive Indicate Better Health?

It is widely claimed that in well-nourished populations, very low female waist–hip ratios (WHRs) together with low body mass indices (BMIs) are judged attractive by men because these features reliably indicate superior health and fertility. However, studies show that mortality rates are higher in women with low BMIs than in women with average BMIs and are inversely related to BMI in subsistence populations. Measures of current health in women of...