Scientists found that a large number of the Scottish males they interviewed prized their beer bellies because it meant they did not look weak. The trend was so pronounced, according to the study, that some men of ?normal? weight even wanted to be fatter. <br />
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Dr Kerri McPherson, who carried out the study, said: "The research clearly showed that Scottish men would rather be overweight than considered puny."<br />
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The research was carried out on 80 shift workers in Edinburgh and Glasgow, who were shown a series of drawings of a male figure in his underpants, starting with a skinny physique with protruding ribs and hip bones, right through to a grossly overweight body shape with a big beer belly. Despite a culture full of images of slim movie stars, models and musicians, all of the men picked as their ideal body shape one of the pictures showing a clinically overweight male. <br />
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McPherson believes that the findings mirror the views of men throughout Scotland, and the rest of the world, regardless of class.<br />
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Read the full story at <a href="http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=559032004"><strong>Scotland on Sunday</strong></a>
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