Babies prefer flabby daddies: Research at University of Sheffield show infants favour female-shaped male boddies Young children shown photos of men had response monitored by cameras Research conducted at University of Sheffield Babies have long been known to favour attractive faces, but it would seem the youngest members of society have a wider definition of beauty than previously imagined. For although having a pretty face appeals to babies, beautiful, slender bodies do not. Particularly when it comes to men. Infants shown images of chubby and toned male figures displayed a marked preference for the fatter of the two, according to a study conducted by the University of Sheffield. Preference: Nine-month-old babies would rather look at Jack Black's physique rather than David Beckham's 'The men with attractive bodies were models, and the men with unattractive bodies were friends of the experimenters,' explained the research team, led by psychology specialist Dr Michelle Heron-Delaney. The images were shown to three groups of children, aged three months, six months and nine months, and their response was monitored by video cameras. Photos were shown in batches of two, for 10 seconds at a time. Each pair included one fat body and one muscly one, some of which had their faces covered and some of which did not. Of the three groups, those aged nine months showed a significant preference for the fatter bodies, their eyes lingering on the 'less attractive' physique. Beauty: According to researchers, the results reveal that perceptions of beauty evolve and develop with age The six-month-olds could distinguish between the two body shapes, but displayed no particular preference, while the three-month-olds couldn't tell the difference. Interestingly, the nine-month-olds only showed a preference for fatter bodies when the head was covered: uncovered, the children made no distinction between the two body shapes. The six-month-olds could distinguish between the two body shapes, but displayed no particular preference, while the three-month-olds couldn't tell the difference Writing in the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, the researchers said: 'The current study suggests that during infancy, preferences for particular human body shapes reflect level of exposure and resultant familiarity rather than culturally defined stereotypes of attractiveness. Precisely when and how children develop preferences for adult-defined attractive bodies remains a question for future research. Explanations for the phenomenon included the prevalence of larger bodies in everyday life and the similarity of a tubby male physique to the female body. The researchers added: 'Because unattractive body shapes are more common than attractive/athletic body shapes in our everyday environment, a preference for unattractive body shapes at nine months of age suggests that preferences for particular human body shapes reflect level of exposure and familiarity rather than culturally defined stereotypes of body attractiveness.'