Online dating is a competitive world, but there’s one thing that isn’t going to help or hurt your chances at finding love: Your waist line.
In a poll conducted by Cornell Science News, a magazine published quarterly by the science departments at Cornell University in New York state, shows that over 65% of all overweight female online dating users fear that their weight will prevent them from finding a suitable match online.
The bad news is that Cornell has uncovered a mass body image problem with female online daters. The good news is that the 65% is wrong.
After the realization of how many thought their weight would negatively effect their dating lives, the Cornell scientists turned to the males of online dating sites to see what weight had to do with their decisions. What did they find in their research?
Dr. Samantha Hogan, the lead researcher in the study, claims that not only did most men answer that they didn’t care about how much a woman weighed, but nearly 90% of all men between the ages of 25 and 36 said that they’d rather date someone a few pounds over what’s considered ‘normal’ for a woman’s height than someone who was a few pounds under it.
“Today in America, 63% of all adult citizens are considered overweight,” says Dr. Hogan. “Men are conditioned to hold new beauty standards to new health standards. They’re more used to seeing overweight females in their day-to-day lives that American males are now more likely to be attracted to someone with a little extra weight to them.”
The study goes on to show that the only time a majority of men disapproved of an overweight date is when they weren’t honest about their size while speaking online.
Dr. Hogan’s team found that when were led to believe that the women they were speaking with online were smaller than they were in real life, the men felt deceived and mislead. Although of the men who participated in the study, 90% of men said they’d rather date someone slightly overweight and 82% said they weren’t against dating a larger woman, there was a large number of men who said they’d be against dating an overweight woman if she lied about it. Of that 82% of men who would accept dating a large partner, 76% of them said they’d turn down a second date if she appeared vastly different than they were led to believe while talking online.
What’s the bottom line? If you’re overweight, embrace it! Although you may be uncomfortable in the body you’re in, men are likely to embrace your shape and appreciate you for it. Hiding what you consider to be a physical flaw could end up costing you dates in the end.
To men on online dating sites, weight is nothing but a number! Forget about your waistline while dating on the Internet. You’re not screening out guys who carry an extra 10 pounds, and they’re not, either! Embrace how you look and start feeling better about your love life and your body.