New Delhi: Can what makes a beautiful pair of legs be quantified? Yes, say scientists and the woman and man who match the scientific standards for beautiful legs are actors Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise.
The research, published in the journal Body Image and first reported by The Independent, says a perfect pair of legs in a woman are 1.4 times the length of her upper body. Kidman owns such legs.
Cruise is shorter than his ex-wife, but his legs are attractive because in men shorter legs, the same length as the torso, look good.
Scientists say long legs in women and shorter ones in men are regarded attractive because of different reasons. A woman with long legs is regarded to be in good health and a man with short legs looks more muscular.
Psychologists from Liverpool University and University College London focused on the ratio of leg and body length to determine the attractiveness of legs.
Legs make up half of adult height, but there are wide individual differences, and women tend to have a higher leg-to-body rations (LBRs).
For the study, researchers had volunteers rate male and female drawings with different LBRs. "The results of this investigation are consistent with the idea that the LBR plays a role in judgements of male and female physical attractiveness. Over all, both male and female participants showed a preference for higher LBRs in women and lower LBRs in men,'' say the researchers.
Why long legs are considered attractive in women but not in men remains unclear. Previous research says that tall women have wider pelvises, allowing easier births.
Other work shows that long legs signify good health.
That may explain the attraction for long-legged women, but not the appeal of shorter legs in men: "If you have shorter legs in comparison with your torso length, you appear to have a bigger torso, which may make you appear more muscular," Dr Viren Swami, who led the study, told the The Independent.
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