It was already known that men find curvy women more attractive and that they live longer. Now research suggests that women with an hourglass figure are brighter and have cleverer children, too.
曲线优美的女性在男性眼中更具吸引力，并且寿命较长，这已经是不争的事实。现在一项研究显示，拥有沙漏形身材的女性更为聪慧，她们生出的宝宝也更聪明。

The study found that women with large hips and small waists are more intelligent than those with either “apple-shaped” or linear bodies.
这项研究发现，那些臀部丰满、腰身纤细的女性比“苹果形”或上下一样粗的女性更加聪明。

The paper, to be published in the journal Evolution and Human Behaviour , suggests that such women give birth to more intelligent children - possibly a result of higher levels of omega3 fatty acids on the hips.
这一研究结果发表在《进化与人类行为》杂志上。文章揭示出沙漏形女性生出的孩子更加聪明，原因可能是她们臀部积聚的Ω3脂肪酸的水平较高。

The researchers believe that the results offer a new explanation for why many men find curvy women more alluring. Nigella Lawson, the cookery presenter and Oxford University graduate, has one of Britain’s most famous hourglass figures, while Rachel Weisz, the curvy actress who won an Oscar for her role in The Constant Gardener, completed an English degree at Cambridge University while embarking on the first stages of her acting career.
研究人员相信上述结果为曲线优美的女性在男性眼中更具吸引力这一现象提供了新的解释。娜杰拉劳森是一位烹饪节目主持人，获得牛津大学硕士学位，她是英国著名的拥有沙漏形身材的女性之一；瑞切尔薇兹是一位曲线优美的女演员，因出演《不朽的园丁》获奥斯卡奖，她在开始演艺生涯第一阶段的同时获得了剑桥大学英语学位。

In the research, scientists at the Universities of Pittsburgh and California, Santa Barbara, used data from a study of 16,000 women and girls, which collected details of their body measurements and their scores in cognitive tests. They found that those women with a greater difference between the waist and hips scored significantly higher on the tests, as did their children.
在这项研究中，来自匹兹堡大学、加州大学圣塔芭芭拉分校的科学家们对1.6万名女性进行了数据采集，搜集到她们的身材数据及在认知测试中的得分。他们发现腰部和臀部尺寸差异明显的女性在认知测试中得分明显较高，她们的孩子也是如此。

Such women are not necessarily skinny. What is important is that their waist should be smaller than their hips, with the ideal ratio being between 0.6 and 0.7.
曲线优美的女性未必全是皮包骨头，但有一点很重要，即她们腰围一定要比臀围小，最佳比例在0.6 至0.7之间。

The researchers suggest that the fat around fuller hips and thighs holds higher levels of omega3 fatty acids which are essential for the growth of the brain during pregnancy. Fat around the waist may have higher levels of omega6 fatty acids, which are less suited to brain growth.
研究人员说，丰满的臀部和大腿周围的脂肪含有水平较高的Ω3脂肪酸，这种脂肪酸是女性怀孕期间婴儿大脑发育的必要物质。腰部周围的脂肪含有较高的Ω6脂肪酸，不适宜婴儿的脑部发育。

Waist fat can also be a contributory factor in diabetes and heart disease. Thinner or linear-shaped women would simply lack enough of either type of fat.
腰部脂肪是引发糖尿病或心脏病的元凶之一。身材偏瘦或上下一样粗的女性容易缺乏足够的Ω3或Ω6型脂肪。

Although these theories await confirmation, Paula Hall, a sexual and relationship psychologist with Relate, said: “Having research that proves you can be sexy and intelligent is really positive. It shows that curvy women may be better at things other than raising children and doing cooking and housework.”
虽然上述理论仍有待进一步证实，供职于Relate研究性与双性关系的心理学家保罗霍尔说：“有研究结果能够证明女性既可性感又能够头脑聪明，这的确是个好消息。这就是说，曲线优美的女性除了擅长抚养孩子、做饭和操持家务外，在其它事情上也可能更胜一筹。”

The research may also explain why children born to teenage mothers do worse in cognitive tests: their mothers may have had insufficient stores of the best fatty acids.
这项研究同时解释了少女妈妈所生的孩子在认知测试中表现较差的原因：他们母亲体内没有储备足够的最佳脂肪酸。

“The cognitive development of their children is reduced, and their own cognitive development is impaired compared with those mothers with a later first birth,” say the researchers.
研究人员说：“比起那些晚生头胎的女性，少女妈妈所生的孩子认知发展减缓，同时她们自身的认知发展也不健全。”

The study noted, however, that children born to teenage girls with traditional hourglass figures seemed to be protected from this phenomenon and did better in tests.
但这项研究也发现那些拥有沙漏形身材的少女妈妈生出的孩子不存在认知发展缓慢的问题，他们在认知测试中表现良好。

A number of scientific studies have shown that men are “hard-wired” to find women with a greater waist-hip differential the most attractive. No one has yet been able to explain this, although theories include enhanced fertility, better childbearing abilities and longer life expectancy.
许多科学研究显示，男性会本能地认定那些腰臀比例相差较大的女性更具吸引力。尽管人们设想生育率、优生能力及预期寿命更长与身材比例有关，但目前为止尚无人能解释曲线优美的女性在男性眼中更具吸引力这一现象。