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Researchers at the University of California Los Angeles say their study published in the August issue of the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, suggests muscles in men are akin to elaborate tail feathers in male peacocks: They attract females looking for a virile mate.

To evolutionary psychologists Frederick and Haselton, this all adds up to a pattern. Both peacock tail and muscles have their downside, and in the latter case, Frederick says, it’s that the muscle-building hormone testosterone is associated with suppression of the immune system. Thus, Frederick says, muscles are “indicators of mate quality” because — like that preposterous tail — they “demonstrate an ability to flourish in the face of what’s really a drag on the system.”

Other studies by the UCLA duo (published together in the latest issue of the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin) found that men who rated themselves as being above-average muscular also were more promiscuous and more likely to have had short-term flings, including ones with women who had boyfriends.

The researchers interviewed 99 male undergraduates about their sexual histories and found muscular men were twice as likely to have had more than three sex partners than less-built types.

They also asked 141 college women to look at six standardized silhouettes of men ranging from brawny to slender. Most preferred a toned man who was more likely to commit over a muscle-bound man they perceived as more volatile, aggressive and dominant.

So although muscular young men are likely to have more sex partners than their less beefy friends peers, women only prefer flings with them. When it comes to finding a long-term partner, most women will pass them by in favour of the average toned and more trustworthy and romantic looking guy. Source