A new study suggests that curvier women could be more intelligent than skinnier peers, and even their children are smarter, according to the magazine Evolution and Human Behaviour quoted by media reports Wednesday.

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and the University of California at Santa Barbara looked at data from a study of more than 16,000 women and girls from 1988 to 1994 that detailed their body measurements, as well as their education level and their scores on various cognitive tests.

The conclusion is that the bigger the difference between a women's waist and her hips, the smarter she will be.

Researchers say that the fat on a woman's hips and thighs have Omega-3 fatty acids. The larger your hip area, the more of these fatty acids, which have been recognized for their brain boosting power.

The fat surrounding women's waist holds omega-6 fatty acids, which are not of so much importance in the development of the brain. Waist fat can also be a major factor in causing diabetes and heart diseases.

And when it comes to the opposite sex. Other studies have shown that men in western countries are more attracted to women with large hips and small waists because they believe they'll be better at bearing children.

However, the differences in cognitive ability that the researchers found were small - on average between 3.6 percent and 7 percent in women with different waist-to-hip ratios, depending on the measure being used.

Because of this, even scientists who call the study intriguing say it would be a mistake to over interpret the findings to mean that just because a woman has a curvy figure, she's smarter.

(Agencies via Xinhua November 14, 2007)