The United States has a reputation for plastic surgery and obesity, but South African women have bigger butts, research reveals.
Data collected by a market research company. GitNux detailed the average hip size of women in 17 countries, which generally corresponds to the size of their buttocks.
South Africa came in first, with an average hip size of 41.73 inches, followed by Argentina (41 inches) and, perhaps surprisingly, Sweden (40.9 inches).
The United States failed to make the top five, while the United Kingdom did not even make the list.
Brazil, long considered the big butt capital of the world, was not included in the data set.
Women in South Africa have the widest average hip size, suggesting a larger butt, according to data collected by GitNux.
Kim Kardashian (left) and Cardi B are two examples of women famous for their curves.
Argentina came in second place with 41 inches on average. Its capital, Buenos Aires, is seen as a global center for plastic surgery, including procedures such as BBL.
Sweden had the third largest hip size at 40.9 inches, despite the stereotype that its women are tall, thin and blonde.
Greece and Germany rounded out the top five, with 40.74 and 40.6 inches, respectively.
Meanwhile, the United States barely managed to crack the top five, coming in at number six with 40.2 inches on average.
Indian women had the thinnest hips at just 36.1 inches, which could be because India has the second-lowest obesity rate among nearly 200 countries.
The researchers did not provide reasons why these countries ranked the way they did, although data and studies from the countries show that obesity, plastic surgery data and the bone structure of the inhabitants could explain the rates.
Darcy Shapiro, an evolutionary anthropologist at Rutgers University, wrote for Massive science that humans evolved to have bigger butts unlike other mammals because we are the only ones who walk primarily on two legs.
Over time, research has found that larger buttocks evolved as a desirable trait because they were a sign of a woman’s youth and fertility.
A study published in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior, for example, found that spinal structure could have an impact on butt size. In the study, men were most attracted to images of women with a 45-degree curvature from the back to the buttocks.
Research suggests that men evolved to find women with larger butts attractive because it suggested they were younger and more fertile.
“This spinal structure would have allowed pregnant women to balance their weight on their hips,” the team said. ‘These women would have been more efficient at foraging during pregnancy and would have been less likely to suffer spinal injuries.
“In turn, men who preferred these women would have had partners who were better able to support the fetus and offspring, and who would have been able to carry out multiple pregnancies without suffering injury.”
A wide range of factors can influence the size of a woman’s butt, including bone density, genetics, diet, overall weight, and activity levels.
In South Africa, this could be because 81.4 percent of the population is black. Some research has suggested that black women may have larger bone structure than white women, although it is still a widely debated topic.
Furthermore, research published in the PeerJ magazine found that more than 68 percent of women in South Africa are overweight or obese, which could lead to more fat around the butt.
Argentina ranked second for curvier women, with an average hip size of 41 inches.
Data from 2021 showed that Argentine doctors performed nearly 400,000 plastic surgeriesmaking it the third most popular Latin American country for cosmetic enhancements, behind Mexico and Brazil.
It also has a large population of indigenous and mestizos, who are also genetically more likely to have steatopygia, a condition that causes excess fat and tissue around the buttocks and thighs.
According to census data, this group represents more than half of the Argentine population.
Despite having a reputation for having taller and slimmer bodies, Sweden ranked third in size.
However, according to the Swedish Public Health Agency, around 50 percent of adults are overweight or obese, and the obesity rate has increased steadily since 2004.
This could be because only one in 10 Swedes eat fruits and vegetables five times a day, as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Additionally, Swedish surgery site Nordiskt Centrum claims that plastic surgery, which includes butt enhancement procedures, has increased 15 percent year over year.
The United States had the sixth largest butt, with an average hip size of 40.2 inches. In addition to America’s growing waistline, plastic surgery is gaining popularity.
About 26 million Americans now undergo some form of cosmetic surgery each year, up 19 percent from 2019 and 30 percent a decade ago.
Meanwhile, India ranked last, with an average hip size of 36.1 inches. Weight could be a factor, as a report from Our world in data It found that India was in second place at 19.7 percent, just behind Vietnam.
Research has also shown that Indian women have smaller bone structure than white or black women.