A preliminary investigation into the potential role of waist hip ratio (WHR) preference within the assortative mating hypothesis of autistic spectrum disorders.
Fathers of kids with ASD don’t show the usual male preference for a low waist-hip ratio, suggesting their own prenatal testosterone pattern differs.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team asked 20 dads of kids with autism and 20 dads of typical kids to rate photos of women.
Each photo showed the same woman, but her waist-hip ratio was changed by a computer.
The dads picked which shape they liked best, giving a simple preference score.
What they found
Dads of typical kids mostly chose the low 0.7 waist-hip ratio, the classic male preference.
Dads of autism kids spread their choices across all shapes; they showed no clear favorite.
The lack of a strong low-ratio liking hints at different prenatal testosterone exposure in these fathers.
How this fits with other research
Hauth et al. (2014) tested the same "extreme-male-brain" idea by measuring finger-length ratios in whole ASD families. They also found only weak testosterone signals, backing the idea that the hormone story is subtle.
Li et al. (2016) pooled five studies and showed that obese mothers have 1.5 times higher odds of having a child with ASD. Mark et al. add a father-side factor, so both parents’ pre-conception biology may shape risk.
Geurts et al. (2008) saw that fathers of ASD kids respond a split-second slower to social eye cues. Together with Mark’s waist-hip finding, these tiny father-side traits support the "broader autism phenotype" view.
Why it matters
You can’t measure waist-hip preference in a clinic, but you can stop blaming only moms. The study reminds us that dads bring their own prenatal factors, and autism risk is a two-parent story. When you take family histories, note paternal traits like social attention or rigid interests; they may flag genetic loading and help you tailor parent training.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Of particular interest to studying the etiology of Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) is the potential for multiple risk factors to combine through non-random mechanisms-assortative mating. Both genetic influences and a high-testosterone prenatal environment have been implicated in the etiology of ASDs, and given that waist-hip ratio (WHR) is indicative of a woman's circulating testosterone level, a man attracted to higher-than-average WHR women is likely to have a higher-than-average prenatal testosterone exposure for their offspring. We show that whereas fathers of children without ASD show a statistically reliable preference for WHRs at the low end of the normal range, indicative of women with low testosterone levels, fathers of children diagnosed with ASD do not consistently show this preference.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2009 · doi:10.1007/s10803-008-0615-1