Why Women Prefer Tall Men

Tall men attract the ladies because they remind them of our violent ape-like ancestors, according to a new theory. A study shows men hit harder when they stand on two legs than when they kneel down, and when directing punches downwards.

This might explain why early humans began walking upright, and also why women prefer tall men, say US researchers.

"The results of this study are consistent with the hypothesis that our ancestors adopted bipedal posture so that males would be better at beating and killing each other when competing for females," said Professor David Carrier, from the University of Utah.

"Standing up on their hind legs allowed our ancestors to fight with the strength of their forelimbs, making punching much more dangerous.

"It also provides a functional explanation for why women find tall men attractive.

"Early in human evolution, an enhanced capacity to strike downward on an opponent may have given tall males a greater capacity to compete for mates and to defend their resources and offspring. If this were true, females who chose to mate with tall males would have had greater fitness for survival."

The findings are reported in the online journal Public Library of Science ONE.