It is bad news for men who avoid the gym, but women particularly prefer muscly men when it comes to short-term relationships.
However being funny could help men find a long-term relationship, as women like a good sense of humour – as long as they or someone else are not the victim of the joke.
Researchers recruited 384 women and asked them to imagine being approached by a single man in a bar.
This man had either a muscular torso, or was less muscular, in a digitally altered photograph shown to each volunteer.
Women shown the more muscular man rated him as much more attractive for a short-term relationship than those shown the weedier version.
In the study women shown a more muscular man rated him as much more attractive for a short-term relationship than a weedier version (stock image)
Muscles were still preferred when women rated the man’s attractiveness for a long-term relationship, but this was not as important – suggesting women are slightly less shallow when looking for a life partner.
Researchers also told half the women the men had made an inoffensive, friendly joke at the bar, while half were told he had been more aggressively funny – with them as the target of the joke.
The friendly, funny man was rated more highly than the aggressively funny man for a long-term relationship, on average.
The researchers say women may be keen on muscles for a short-lived romantic encounter because of their cavewoman brain.
A strong man may produce children more likely to survive until adulthood, they may be evolutionarily programmed to think.
Meanwhile men who are funny, but not aggressively so, may appear nice and kind – good qualities for a longer relationship.
Dr Mitch Brown, who led the study from the University of Arkansas, said: ‘Strong men are attractive because we want to find a mate with good genes, and women associate muscles with being fit and healthy.
‘However, in a long-term context, it’s important to find a kind person who will support his family.
‘Nice guys who make friendly jokes can actually finish first when it comes to attracting a women looking for a long-term relationship.’
The study, published in the journal Personal Relationships, found women viewed strong men as more extroverted and open to new experiences, but also more neurotic, which may be off-putting.
Men who were not aggressively funny were judged to be more agreeable and conscientious, when women were asked about their personalities.
The study suggests this may make them seem less likely to cheat in a long-term relationship, and more likely to want to look after children.
The study asked the women to rate men on their desirability for a short or long-term relationship, on a scale from one, which meant very undesirable, to nine, which meant very desirable.
The average score for strong men, for a short-term relationship, was 4.22, compared to 3.78 for the less muscular man.
When thinking about a long-term relationship, women scored the strong man less highly, with an average score of 3.62, and gave the less strong man an average score of 2.87.
The man had the same face, only differing in the shape of their torso under a white vest.
Women rated a man who made a kind joke as more desirable than one who made an aggressive joke for a long-term relationship, but there was no significant difference in their ratings for a short-term relationship.
Researchers say an aggressive sense of humour, where a man tries to score points at someone else’s expenses, may deter women looking for a long-term partner.
But in a short-term scenario, like a one-night stand or a few dates, this is a less of a consideration.
