REVEALED: The intriguing scientific reason why more and more women are loving DAD BODS… as Travis Kelce defends his relaxed physique

During a recent jaunt around the Bahamas, pop megastar Taylor Swift and his boyfriend, Kansas City Chief tight end Travis Kelce, were photographed holding hands along the beach.

Commenters were quick to note Kelce’s soft belly and knight his physique with the honorable title of “Dad Bod.”

The term covers a wide range of body types, but generally refers to men with larger, softer bodies, who are strong but not necessarily buff.

They can range from athletes like Kelce to actors like Adam Sandler.

And the body has seen a surge in popularity among young women lately.

A 2021 Dating.com survey found that 75 percent of singles were fans of the dad bod.

Now researchers have revealed the scientific reason why women like Swift find this body so attractive.

According to psychologist Joel Wade, a presidential professor at Bucknell University, it makes it clear to potential partners that a man is a safe paternal option to nest with, he wrote. Psychology today.

It’s not the father body itself that women are attracted to, but what it represents, says evolutionary psychologist James Sherlock, of the University of Queenslandwrote.

Kelce helped the Chief’s secure a SuperBowl victory in 2024

For women who are attracted to the body, they may find that this indicates a partner with a balanced family lifestyle and softer personality traits, Simon Clay, a sociologist at New South Wales University, wrote.

He said: ‘Slightly “chubby” men may have less testosterone and therefore take less risk, and thus be better fathers.’

High levels of testosterone have been linked to increased aggression and risk-taking in men, neuroscientists say Found Trinity College Dublin.

Seeing a less toned body can be a subconscious signal to a partner that a man is more relaxed in his environment and at ease, Clay added.

Essentially, the time it takes to maintain a six-pack can take up a lot of time a man could be spending at home with his family.

So a softer body may indicate a greater willingness to spend time at home.

Clay also wrote that popular culture could have an impact on women’s perception of the father body. With the rise of celebrity beach photos, people have seen their favorite entertainers, from Leonardo DiCaprio to John Hamm, rock the softer silhouette.

“The sexualized commodification and subjectification of the semi-naked, soft, male body of celebrities helped make the Dad Bod culturally legible,” Clay wrote.

Many men with dad bods have strong athletic ability. Kelce’s teammate, quarterback Patrick Mahomes, was also caught on the dad bod train in early 2024

Essentially, he means that if people see that a celebrity they admire has a softer body, they might look elsewhere for it, Clay said.

But all in all, Wade said science is addressing the question of whether or not women have a purely physical attraction to their father’s bodies.

He cited a study in which psychologists tested men’s attractiveness based solely on their bodies, which found that women rated the more muscular men, with shoulders significantly wider than their torso, as more attractive than men with softer body types.

However, the same study found that women said those with dad bods seemed more affectionate, caring and friendly and would likely make better potential parents.