Men’s magazine FHM recently conducted an online survey asking whether its readers found size eight, size 12 or a size 14 model most attractive.

The survey drew 60,000 responses with 41 per cent of respondents saying size 12 was the best, 39 per cent preferring size 14 and a measly 20 per cent going for a size eight.

The Daily Liberal hit the streets of Dubbo with pictures of Beyonce Knowles, a size 14 and a size eight Keira Knightley, to find out just what body type appealed most to local men.

A staggering 100 per cent of men asked, all claimed that size eight was just too skinny and that a real woman had to have curves.

“She looks like a 13-year-old boy,” one man said after looking at the picture of Keira Knightley.

“Too skinny looks unhealthy,” another said.

Two of the six men asked said that a woman must have “meat on her bones” to be attractive.

When looking at the picture of Beyonce Knowles in her bikini they described her as having a “fuller figure” and “the body of a real woman”.

Flinders University body image expert, Marika Tiggemann said the findings from the FHM survey supported academic research on the topic on female body image.

“We find women want to be thinner than what men find attractive,” Professor Tiggemann said.

“Men’s idea of what is ‘thin’ is larger than that of women.”

anna.yeo@ruralpress.com