the buzz log

Big news: While Americans' wallets may be getting slimmer, there's reason to believe that it's OK for the female waistline to fatten up. Thanks to a study revisited by The Daily Beast, it's come out that those worried about their declining economic power prefer a woman of sturdier stock.

The researchers aren't exactly sure why the study shows the economically depressed sizing up, but there are theories that go something like this: In times of scarcity, bigger is better. Sort of like the Costco theory for looks.

The study shouldn't cause women to flock to their local fast-food joint. The difference in body-type preference when the economy goes south only turns out to be about two to three pounds. As Salon's Broadsheet put it: "There go my plans to find my next husband by hanging outside the unemployment office and/or Burger King at lunchtime."

Sorry guys, the bad economy's love of big bods doesn't cut both ways: The study did not show a change in women's interest in bigger men. Don't let us interrupt those crunches.