Beauty standards are often based on subconscious assessment of reproductive fitness. In a woman with a few extra pounds and high levels of estrogen and progesterone, those pounds tend to get stored below the waist. That way, there's a calorie reserve for carrying a pregnancy, while the lower amount of fat around the waist allows for cooling and easier mobility for the core muscles and organs. This effect is even more pronounced if one's ancestors hail from warmer climates, where keeping the internal organs cooler can prevent heat stroke and other heat-related illnesses -- this can be a matter of survival. The visual impression is of a healthy and fertile young woman with enough reserves to carry a pregnancy and nurse an infant.

On the other hand -- with lower estrogen levels, stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenalin have a stronger influence. These tend to store fat around the middle, where they are closer to the organs that actually metabolize fat to create energy -- that is, the liver and pancreas. The visual impression is of a stressed-out, less-healthy and less-fertile woman.

Now Lizzo -- she's in a class by herself! She's fit from her workouts and strenuous performances. She's got a great attitude. She loves herself, is proud of herself, and this shows. Her beauty comes from within, that's why we love her so.

Of course, looks can be deceiving. The pear-shaped woman may have tortured herself with binding under-clothes, dieting, and surgery, while the apple-shaped woman may be as fertile, happy, and healthy as anyone else. And men don't think about any of this consciously. It all happens in the nerve and endocrine systems. All the man thinks consciously is "WOW!"