Evolution of life-history trade-offs in mate attractiveness and health: comment on Weeden and Sabini (2005)

Abstract

J. Weeden and J. Sabini's finding of small to no relation between traits rated as attractive in a mate and health of that mate might be interpreted as consistent with C. Darwin's (1859) proposal that these traits are arbitrary signs of beauty. However, such a conclusion would be premature. A combination of consistent empirical findings with nonhuman species and theoretical reasons argues for a continued search for honest signals of genetic fitness and reproductive health in human mate choices. Moreover, (a) even quite small relationships can be important when viewed across generations, and (b) traits that make a potential mate attractive at one age can result in poor health or early death at a later age. These life-history trade-offs greatly complicate the empirical study of attractiveness-health relations, and their potential importance has been underestimated by J. Weeden and J. Sabini.