Frauen können Alter, Adipositas (Körperfett) und Testosteronspiegel am Gesicht eines Mannes ablesen. Die Studie aus Polen zeigte, dass Frauen ältere Männer und solche mit einem höheren Testosteronspiegel tendenziell als männlicher wahrnahmen. Männer mit höherer Adipositas wurden sowohl als weniger männlich als auch als weniger attraktiv angesehen.

I’ve linked to the news release in the post above. In this comment, for those interested, here’s the link to the peer reviewed journal article:

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-025-03205-3

From the linked article:

**Women can read age, adiposity and testosterone level from a man’s face**

A study in Poland found that women perceive men with lower **adiposity (body fat)** as more attractive. Facial masculinity, in turn, was positively associated with higher testosterone levels and age. While women initially rated faces of men in worse cardiometabolic health as less attractive, this association was fully explained by adiposity, age, and testosterone levels. The research was published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior.

**The results showed that women tended to perceive older men and those with higher testosterone levels as more masculine. Men with higher adiposity were seen as both less masculine and less attractive**.

Initially, faces of men in worse cardiometabolic health (e.g., with higher insulin resistance or triglyceride levels) were rated as less attractive and less masculine. However, these associations disappeared after the researchers statistically controlled for adiposity, age, and testosterone levels. This suggests that facial appearance is not a direct signal of specific health markers, but rather a signal of broader factors like body fat and hormone levels, which are themselves linked to health.

“The hormonal system, body composition, and overall cardiometabolic health are a network of interconnected factors that simultaneously affect appearance and broadly understood ‘biological condition,’” the study authors concluded. “As a result, testosterone and body adiposity may account for a significant portion of the variance in cardiometometabolic functioning, potentially mediating the relationship between specific cardiometabolic markers and physical appearance. It is plausible that sexual selection favored sensitivity to broader morphological cues of health or fertility, such as higher body adiposity or reduced testosterone, rather than for any specific physiology-dependent health problems.”

The study sheds light on the nuanced links between health and facial appearance. However, it is important to note that preferences for facial appearance can show cultural variability; in some cultures, higher adiposity may be valued as a sign of wealth or resilience. Additionally, the cardiometabolic health indicators were measured only once, while these values can fluctuate more rapidly than a person’s facial structure.

In an online survey, Polish women ages 27-48 rated 105 healthy Polish men.

So the results may not translate well to somewhere in the world that has different ideals for male appearance. For example, I’m pretty sure the K-Pop phenomenon is not about preferring older, burly men.

Women are also observed as having a fright response at seeing men’s faces whom they observe to have high testosterone.

This is a big generalization, idk if it changes by country/region, but I’m 100% positive that most women in my country prefer heavier men, be it muscular or a bit on the fat side (not obese though).

That women can „read“ that info on a man’s face is interesting though.