Women near peak fertility eat less to maintain sex appeal

 

 

Biology isn't the only reason women eat less as they near ovulation, a time when they are at their peak fertility. the studies found that another part of the equation is a woman's desire to maintain her body's attractiveness.

 

Lead author Andrea L. Meltzer from Southern Methodist University said that women nearing ovulation who also reported an increase in their motivation to manage their body attractiveness reported eating fewer calories out of a desire to lose weight.

 

When women were not near peak fertility, regardless of whether they were motivated to manage their body attractiveness, near peak fertility but not motivated to manage their body attractiveness or using hormonal birth control, they were less likely to want to lose weight and didn't reduce their calories, Meltzer said.

 

These findings may help reconcile prior inconsistencies regarding the implications of ovulatory processes, added Meltzer. The desire to manage body attractiveness was a motivational factor for desired weight loss when women are nearing ovulation.

 

The findings are published in the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.