The Bottom Line on What Women Find Attractive In general, this boils down to having more muscle and less body fat than the average guy. Specifically, the physique women find most attractive seems to be a guy with 20 to 30 pounds more muscle than average and a low body fat percentage (8 to 12%).
It may be predicted, therefore that, if attractiveness is a mechanism for identifying healthy, fertile mates, healthy levels of body fat (21–33% for women and 8–21% for men; [36]) will be perceived as healthiest and most attractive.
With that said, general body fat guidelines for men state that 2% to 5% body fat is essential, 2% to 24% body fat is considered healthy and more than 25% body fat classifies as obese. For women, 10% to 13% body fat is essential, 10% to 31% body fat is considered healthy and more than 32% body fat classifies as obese.
How much body fat percentage is attractive? Overall, it seems like all of the research lines up quite neatly. Women prefer men who look healthy and strong, which means a body-fat percentage of 8–20%, with the majority of women preferring men with a body-fat percentage somewhere in the middle.
Anywhere in the 10–20% body-fat percentage range is good for general health (study), and anywhere in the 9–15% range seems fairly ideal for attractiveness. These ideals are realistically achievable for most people, but it's much easier for some than others. Preferences for abs can vary, too.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the average woman is overweight and has a BMI of almost 30. Guys tend to prefer women who have a normal healthy BMI of somewhere between 18–23. Not overweight, not overweight, just a regular BMI that's somewhere in the healthy range.
An elite athlete will have a lower body fat percentage than that of the average person. Male athletes, for example, will have between 6 and 13% body fat while female athletes will have 14 to 20% body fat.
10 to 14 percent
This range of body fat is still lean, which means your abs will be visible.
Your Abdominal Muscles Aren't Thick Enough
If you have a trim waist and minimal body fat and you still can't see your abs, then you need to work on getting the Rectus Abdominis (your 6 pack muscle) thicker. You will never be able to see your abs if the muscle bellies there are weak and small.
Male-specific factors. Women, on average, tend to be more attracted to men who have a relatively narrow waist, a V-shaped torso, and broad shoulders. Women also tend to be more attracted to men who are taller than they are, and display a high degree of facial symmetry, as well as relatively masculine facial dimorphism.
Symmetry: people whose faces are more symmetrical are generally considered more attractive. Averageness: faces that resemble others in the population tend to appear more attractive. Apparent health: people who look healthy, because of their skin and overall appearance are considered to have more attractive faces.
Having a six pack requires a leaner physique - typically within the athletic range. The body fat percentage needed to see your pack of abdominal muscles falls somewhere around 14 to 20% for women and 6 to 13% for men.
YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH MUSCLE MASS
Simply put, the more muscle mass you have, the lower your body fat percentage is going to be. As well, the more muscle mass you have, the more energy you expend (and fat you burn) even at rest. So in order to avoid being skinny fat, you'll want to ensure you prioritize building muscle.
Because the ab crack is dependent on the underlying physical structure of your abdomen, there's no ab crack exercise or diet that can make one appear if your linea alba isn't deep or wide enough to form this divot. If you have the underlying structure for an ab crack, losing fat should bring it out.
If you're starting with 20 percent body fat, it would take somewhere between 3 to 6 months to start seeing your abs. For men, up to 20 percent body fat is considered healthy, but the fat to muscle ratio is still skewed toward the former.
For a man with average genetics and a healthy lifestyle, 14-20 percent is a great, sustainable body fat. It's lean enough to show some decent muscle definition, but high enough that you can build strength and muscle and enjoy your life without strict diets. For a woman, a similar range would be around 21-28 percent.
According to the above data, male bodybuilders are likely to have the lowest body fat percentage of the athletes included and female basketball players and shot putters are likely to have the highest body fat percentage.
Joint range of motion can be negatively affected by excessive body mass and fat as well, and mass can form a physical barrier to joint movement in a complete range of motion. Thus, athletes competing in sports that require high levels of flexibility benefit from having low levels of body fat.
If you are an athlete and interested in optimal athletic performance, aim for a body fat percentage around 15% (men) or 20% (women). NF team member Staci trains much better at 20% body fat than at 15% body fat.
Men cited women's faces as being their most attractive attribute by 46%. In second place, women's butts came in at 18% followed by hair at 11%. Legs, breasts, eyes, and others composed the remaining 26%.
Top hourglass body shape
Considered to be the most attractive body shape, this is very similar to hourglass body shape, except that in this case the curves are more defined.
As mentioned before in Perett's book, In Your Face: The New Science of Human Attraction, women show a stronger attraction toward men with a figure consistent with the ideal hunting physique: strong shoulders, narrow waists, and broad chests and shoulders.
You must have a very low body fat percentage for visible abs
This isn't a case where someone is lacking muscle. You can see many professional athletes with an unbelievably strong, muscular core, and yet they don't look lean at all. Generally, a male will need to be under 12% body fat to have those instrgram-ready abs.