Wider Hips may Suggest a more Promiscuous Woman: Study

A recent study shows that women with wider hips may also be more promiscuous.

According to researchers from the University of Leeds, they studied 148 women aged 18 to 26, all of whom had at least one sexual partner before the start of the study. The participant's hips were measured and they were then asked to complete questionnaires regarding their sexual history. This involved such questions as when they lost their virginity, their number of sexual partners and their number of serious sexual relationships.

Findings showed that "one-night stand behavior" predicted the number of people a woman had relations with, while also linking to hip-width-ratio. More specifically, the study suggests that women with hips wider than 14.2 inches had more one-night stands than those with smaller hips.

Researchers said they believe this may be explained by the fact that wider hips provide better and less traumatic birthing advantages than smaller ones.

"Women's hip width has a direct impact on their risk of potentially fatal childbirth-related injury. It seems that when women have control over their own sexual activity this risk is reflected in their behavior. Women's sexual activity is therefore at least in part influenced by hip width," concluded lead researcher Colin A. Hendrie of the university, via a press release.

More information regarding the findings can be seen via the journal Archives of Sexual Behavior.