Whether it’s Tinder or Hinge, anyone with an online dating account will know that choosing the perfect pictures and words for your profile is a tricky business.
From candid photos to funny jokes, it can be difficult to know what will help you bag the likes in a sea of profiles.
But help is at hand, as scientists have revealed the one word you definitely should not include on your profile.
According to researchers from the University of Warsaw, the word ‘vegetarian‘ will immediately put off potential dates.
In a new study, the team found that being a vegetarian makes both women and men less attractive as potential partners.
Male vegetarians are also viewed as less masculine, according to the researchers.
‘Women who reject traditional masculinity based on strength and dominance may perceive male vegetarians differently than those who embrace traditional masculinity,’ they said.
‘This, in turn, may explain why for some women a vegetarian man is “not a real man”.’
According to researchers from the University of Warsaw, the word ‘ vegetarian ‘ will immediately put off potential dates
Several previous studies have set out to understand the desire to date certain people.
However, until now, there has little research on whether or not diet plays a role in romantic attraction.
‘The study examined how dissimilarity in the context of diet (eating or not eating meat) affects romantic attraction and thus the desire to date people on a different diet,’ the team wrote in their study, published in Social Psychological Bulletin.
The team enlisted 404 participants aged 18-82, who were asked to imagine they were using a dating app to look for a partner.
Each participant was randomly shown one of four types of profile.
This included a person who was vegetarian for ethical reasons, a person who was vegetarian for environmental reasons, a person who was vegetarian for health reasons, or a person without any informaton about their diet (known as the control target).
After viewing each profile, the participants were asked about their general attitude towards the person, how willing they would be to date them, and how masculine or feminine they thought they were.
The results revealed that vegetarians were seen as less attractive as potential dating partners.
Scientists have revealed the one word you definitely should not include on your profile – vegetarian
‘Compared to vegetarian targets, targets with no diet information were seen most positively in general, more masculine as well as more feminine, and thus more suitable to enter a relationship with,’ the researchers explained.
Breaking the results down further, the researchers found key differences in the perception of vegetarians for different reasons.
‘The general pattern was that the control target was evaluated most positively, and the vegetarian for health reasons the least positively (least dateable, least gender congruent, least masculine and feminine).’
While the participants were not asked for their reasoning, the researchers suggest that it comes down to wanting to date like-minded people.
‘Since only meat-eaters participated in the study, one explanation for the present finding is that people want to enter relationships with people who are on a similar diet to them,’ they wrote.
‘This is consistent with previous research that has found that vegetarians preferred to be in romantic relationships with other vegetarians.
‘The preference for relationships with people who do not mention their diet versus vegetarians can be explained by the fact that when it comes to romantic relationships, people feel attracted to those who are similar to them.
‘Thus, meat-eaters may believe that vegetarians simply have different values than they do, and those who do not mention their diet might be assumed to be meat-eaters, as a “default” option.’
The researchers hope the findings will spark further research on the perceptions of vegetarians.
‘Efforts to understand the vegetarian stereotype and its connection to masculinity may contribute to a better understanding of why men are less willing to become vegetarian,’ they concluded.
WHAT SHOULD A BALANCED DIET LOOK LIKE?
Meals should be based on potatoes, bread, rice, pasta or other starchy carbohydrates, ideally wholegrain, according to the NHS
• Eat at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day. All fresh, frozen, dried and canned fruit and vegetables count
• Base meals on potatoes, bread, rice, pasta or other starchy carbohydrates, ideally wholegrain
• 30 grams of fibre a day: This is the same as eating all of the following: 5 portions of fruit and vegetables, 2 whole-wheat cereal biscuits, 2 thick slices of wholemeal bread and large baked potato with the skin on
• Have some dairy or dairy alternatives (such as soya drinks) choosing lower fat and lower sugar options
• Eat some beans, pulses, fish, eggs, meat and other proteins (including 2 portions of fish every week, one of which should be oily)
• Choose unsaturated oils and spreads and consuming in small amounts
• Drink 6-8 cups/glasses of water a day
• Adults should have less than 6g of salt and 20g of saturated fat for women or 30g for men a day
Source: NHS Eatwell Guide
