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Updated: Apr 26, 2026
Skeletal Muscle Gender Dimorphism from Proteomics
Published on: December 14, 2011
Body symmetry and physical strength in human males
Bernhard Fink1, Bettina Weege, John T Manning
1Institute of Psychology and Courant Research Center Evolution of Social Behavior, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
Objectives:
Body symmetry and physical strength in males have been related to aspects of mate "quality"-women seem to prefer men who display both "good genes" (as indexed by high symmetry/developmental health) and fighting ability (as indexed by physical strength). Here we show that fluctuating asymmetry (FA) of the body and physical strength are negatively correlated.
Methods:
Body FA (from 12 paired traits) and handgrip strength (HGS; a measure of muscular power and force) were measured in a sample of 69 heterosexual, right-handed men (18-42 years).
Results:
There were positive correlations of body symmetry with HGS after controlling for the effect of body-mass-index.
Conclusions:
We conclude that in males, body symmetry and physical strength are correlated such that symmetric individuals tend to develop higher strength, which may contribute to their success in inter- and intra-sexual selection.
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