Heavy Men Have More Nasal Bacteria than Slim and Attractive Men, Study

A startling association between a person's body mass index (BMI) and the amount of bacteria colonizing noses was discovered by a team of international experts.

The study reported in the American Journal  of Human Biology reveals that when compared to slim and traditionally attractive men, heavier men with large waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) carry more potentially pathogenic nasal bacteria.

"According to an evolutionary point of view, traits related to attractiveness are supposed to be honest signals of biological quality," said Dr. Boguslaw Pawlowski, the study author. "We analyzed whether nasal and throat colonization with potentially pathogenic bacteria is related to body height and BMI in both sexes."

To verify the link between BMI and species of bacteria present in the nose, the researchers conducted a study on 103 healthy females and 90 healthy males of mean ages 21.4 and 22.8, respectively. The study participants self-reported their height and weight. The researchers measured the participant's waist and hip circumference. The nasal and throat swabs of all the participants were collected and examined.

The researchers identified six different potentially pathogenic bacteria from the nasal and throat swabs. The most common bacteria species they identified was 'staphylococcus aurerus'. The researchers highlighted that colonized men had a higher BMI when compared to non colonized males, whereas this difference was not seen in females.

"To our knowledge, this is the first attempt to study body morphology traits related to physical attractiveness in relation to bacterial colonization in young people," said Pawlowski. "The results confirmed our hypothesis, but only for BMI in males."