Science / Medicine : The Fantasy Body: Real Short of Ideal

The average American man is 5-foot-10, 172 pounds, with a lean build. He wants to be an inch taller, a pound lighter and more muscular, and thinks a great deal about the body shape of the average American woman.

The average American man thinks women want a man who’s 6 feet, 173 pounds and muscular. In fact, they want men the way men want themselves: 5-11, 171, muscular. Men think women like them to have hairy chests, and they’re right.

So says the Gallup Organization’s “national body image survey,” which was commissioned by, and described in, American Health magazine.

Now, as for the average American woman:

The average American woman wears a Size 10 to 12 dress, stands 5-foot-3 1/2 and weighs 134 pounds. She has a soft body tone, short, straight, brown hair, and imperfect, untanned skin.

The average American woman wants to wear a dress 2-to-4 sizes smaller, stand an inch taller and weigh 11 pounds less. She would like more muscles, wavy or curly brown hair and smooth, tanned skin.

The average American woman thinks men want a woman who wears a size 8 dress, stands 5-foot-4 and weighs 118 pounds.