Why it's all gone apple-shaped for women's dream figure
Butternut beauty: Nigella Lawson has a figure women envy Almost half of British women have the type of figure men desire and other ladies envy.
Well, thats what they like to think, at any rate.
In reality, most women surveyed about their shapes failed to measure up to their perception of themselves.About 3,000 were asked which fruit or vegetable from a list best described their shape, before providing their waist and hip measurementsto researchers.
Some 27 per cent claimed to have a coveted butternut squash figure (small waist, larger hips and bust) while 21 per cent said they had theslightly less iconic pear figure (small waist and bust but larger hips). Only 21 per cent of women said they believed themselves to be the dreaded apple shape plumper around the middle and bust.
Of the rest, 16 per cent had described themselves as an aubergine (larger waist and hips and small bust), while the remaining 15 per cent said they were carrot-shaped (long and lean with no curves) or like a broccoli floret (large bust, skinny waist and hips).Yet when the vital statistics were measured, more than half were apple-shaped, and far fewer had a pear or butternut squash figure than they thought. The average hip size for all the women polled was 36in, and the average waist size was 30in. Experts said this confirmed the previously documented shift away from the classic hourglass figure of the 1950s.
Back then a womans average waist size was 27.5in and her hips 39in, giving her a much more curvaceous silhouette.
They have found that working women tend to carry fat around their stomachs, rather than their hips.
The reason fat targets the middle is because it is close to the liver where it can be quickly converted back into energy if needed.
Scientists who study waist-to-hip ratios the waist measurement divided by the hip measurement say a ratio of 0.7, enjoyed by actress Elizabeth Taylor at her peak, is most likely to turn heads and be attractive to the opposite sex.
Butthe survey, commissioned by health and beauty event the Vitality Show, revealed that modern women, on average, have a waist-to-hip ratio of 0.83.
Classic figures: Dita Von Teese and Kelly Brook are genuine hourglass stunners
Even todays butternut babes have slightly larger waists than the 1950s hourglass, but they are also more aware of healthy diets and exercise so are less likely to carry as much weight on their hips.
Celebrities with hourglass or butternut squash figures include Kelly Brook, Nigella Lawson and burlesque star Dita Von Teese.
Psychotherapist Sally Stubbs said: The butternut squash shape is considered the Western conception of the ideal, so its understandable that women would want to view their bodies in this way.
The reality is that only about 8 per cent of women have a truly hourglass physique.
In the past women were more likely to wear boned corsetry to manipulate their weight distribution and this may be why the figures from the 1950s show such a drastically small waist.
Women need to b! e more r ealistic particularly those of us who have had children and accept the assets and flaws of our bodies.
* The Vitality Show will take place at Earls Court from March 24 to 28. For information and tickets contact www.vitalitylive.co.uk
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