Data from: Adiposity, compared with masculinity, serves as a more valid cue to immunocompetence in human mate choice

According to the “good genes” hypothesis, females choose males based on traits that indicate the male’s genetic quality in terms of disease resistance. The “immunocompetence handicap hypothesis (ICHH)” proposed that secondary sexual traits serve as indicators of male genetic quality because they indicate that males can contend with the immunosuppressive effects of testosterone. Masculinity is commonly assumed to serve as such a secondary sexual trait. Yet women do not consistently prefer masculine looking men, nor is masculinity consistently related to health across studies. Here we show that adiposity, but not masculinity, significantly mediates the relationship between a direct measure of immune response (Hepatitis B antibody response) and attractiveness for both body and facial measurements. In addition, we show that circulating testosterone is more closely associated with adiposity than masculinity. These findings indicate that adiposity, compared to masculinity, serves as a more important cue to immunocompetence in female mate choice.依据优质基因（good genes）假说，雌性会基于能够反映雄性抗病相关遗传品质的性状来选择配偶。免疫能力妥协假说（immunocompetence handicap hypothesis，ICHH）则提出，第二性征可作为雄性遗传品质的评判指标，因其能够体现雄性可抗衡睾酮的免疫抑制效应。通常认为男子气概相关特征即属于这类第二性征。然而现有研究均表明，女性并不会始终偏好具有男子气概外貌的男性，且男子气概特征与健康水平的关联也并非稳定一致。本研究显示，体脂水平（而非男子气概特征）可显著介导免疫应答的直接检测指标——乙型肝炎抗体应答——与躯体及面部吸引力之间的关联。此外，本研究还发现，循环睾酮水平与体脂水平的关联程度要强于其与男子气概特征的关联。上述研究结果表明，相较于男子气概特征，体脂水平在雌性择偶过程中是更为关键的免疫能力评判线索。