Studies of single women presented with a series of male body types find that the 'dad bod' is rated as the most popular.
"studies of single women have found that, you know, if you show them a series of body types, the dad bod is the most popular" (said at 0:00:25)
Empirical scientific studies evaluating female preferences for male body types across varying degrees of muscularity and body fat consistently find that women prefer athletic, lean physiques with higher muscle mass and low adipose tissue, rather than a 'dad bod' (characterized by higher body fat/adiposity and lower muscle definition). While informal dating-app or fitness-brand marketing surveys occasionally claim popularity for 'dad bods', formal psychophysical studies measuring attractiveness across body composition dimensions contradict the claim that the 'dad bod' is the most popular body type.
- contradicts: The degree to which the cultural ideal is internalized predicts judgments of male and fema… (Frontiers in psychology 2022)
"We found a clear preference by both genders for a male body with high muscle and low adipose, and a toned, low adipose female body." (abstract, results, passage verified)
pubmedfull study (doi)