Researchers at the University of Liverpool found men and women have very different reactions to slim women who had previously been overweight, reports the Telegraph.
Lead research, Dr Jason Halford presented photographs of young, attractive women to 106 young men and 96 women. The only difference in the presentation of the photos was the short biography that accompanied it.
Roughly half of the photographs were presented as a woman who had maintained her slim weight all her life, while the other half were presented as a woman who use to weigh 225 pounds and wear a size 24.
Women judged the former fat woman as undisciplined, emotional unstable, and even unhygienic. Whereas, men considered her to be more approachable, and even more clever and creative than her lifelong-thin counterpart.
"Some of the men quite liked the fact she had a weight history,” Dr Halford said. “They seemed to feel she was more approachable. She is not perfect. She is flawed.She is more likely to be friendly. Without the history of weight loss, she is more likely to be unfriendly,” he added.
While his previous studies have shown that partners of fat people suffer discrimination by association, Dr. Halford said of this new study that some women may not like a newly-thin competitor on the scene.