The heavier a man’s voice is the stronger he is physically, says a new study. The University of California study found that a man’s voice is an indicator of his upper body strength.
The researchers collected voice recordings and body measurements from more than 360 people from around the world.
The recordings were then played to more than 200 US students who were asked to rate each person’s strength on a number scale. They found that after listening to the recordings, the volunteers could accurately predict the strength of the men, based on a seven-point scale from weak to strong, regardless of the language used.
Although both sexes give clues to their strength every time they open their mouths, male voices are much easier to judge than female ones, the researchers found, the Daily Mail reported.
Lead research Dr Aaron Sell of the University of California said the ability to assess strength from voices “evolved to help our ancestors avoid picking fights they were likely to lose”.
He said: “Both men and women were equally accurate at assessing strength in the voice.”
It makes evolutionary sense for people to be better at predicting a man’s strength than a woman’s, because “most of the physical aggression is caused by males”, he said, adding that “it may also have helped women select strong mates”.