Study: A woman's attractiveness are in the size of her waist and her hips

Beauty, they say, is in the eye of the beholder. But it is actually far less subjective than that, research suggests. A woman's attractiveness relates to the size of her waist compared with her hips, it has been found.

Scientists have discovered the ratio which, they say, makes for the perfect figure. New Zealand anthropologist Barnaby Dixson set out to find what makes a woman attractive to men.

A group of volunteers were presented with various pictures of a woman in which her bust, waist and hips had been digitally altered and asked to rate the image for attractiveness. Infra-red cameras tracked their eyes as they looked at the photos. Although most were initially drawn to the woman's cleavage, her hips and waist were key to attraction.

A waist-to-hip ratio of 0.7 - or a waist measurement exactly 70 per cent of the hip circumference - scored the highest marks. Examples include some of the world's most beautiful women. Marilyn Monroe, modern-day starlet Jessica Alba and Victoria's Secret model Alessandra Ambrosio all possess the perfect figure.

As does Kate Moss, despite her apparent lack of curves. And the attractiveness of the hourglass figure holds true across countries and cultures, research shows. Studies show that men in the UK, Cameroon, Germany and China, agree with those polled in New Zealand.