A new study has claimed that women who have curvier hips are preferred the most by men. The research has also debunked the belief that butt size significantly attracts men. Instead, it’s the curve of the spine that is liked the most by men. The study was conducted by the researchers from the University of Texas at Austin.

Going by what the study concluded, men are attracted to women with an optimal lumbar curvature of 45.5 degrees from back to buttocks. The researchers also said that men have preferred women with curvier butt since ancient times because they would have been better at foraging during pregnancy.

“This spinal structure would have enabled pregnant women to balance their weight over the hips. These women would have been more effective at foraging during pregnancy and less likely to suffer spinal injuries”, said David Lewis, psychologist at the University of Texas, and the lead author of the study.

Women with this shape have been able to carry out multiple pregnancies without suffering injury. The study saw 200 men rating the attractiveness of several manipulated images showing spinal curves across the natural spectrum. The images that attracted the men the most were of women who had the optimum curvature of 45.5 degrees.

Men liked women who had the optimal spinal curvature regardless of their buttock size. Eric Russell, visiting researcher at the University of Texas, and one of the members of the study, said their study has helped them reach at the conclusion that men prefer women who exhibit specific angles of spinal curvature over buttock mass.