<P> A study by Swami et al. of American men and women showed a preference for men with legs as long as the rest of their body and women with 40% longer legs than the rest of their body The researcher concluded that this preference might be influenced by American culture where long - legged women are portrayed as more attractive . The Swami et al. study was criticized for using a picture of the same person with digitally altered leg lengths which Marco Bertamini felt were unrealistic . Bertamini also criticized the Swami study for only changing the leg length while keeping the arm length constant . Bertamini's own study which used stick figures mirrored Swami's study, however, by finding a preference for leggier women . </P> <P> Another common measurement of related to leg - to - body ratio is sitting - height ratio (SHR). Sitting height ratio is the ratio of the head plus spine length to total height which is highly correlated to leg - to - body ratio . SHR has been found to be very different between individuals of different ancestry . It has been reported that individuals with African ancestry have on average longer leg length, i.e. lower SHR than individuals of European ancestry . A study in 2015 revealed that this difference is mainly due to genetic differences and the SHR difference between African and European individuals is as large as 1 standard deviation . </P> <P> A 1999 study found that "the (action) figures have grown much more muscular over time, with many contemporary figures far exceeding the muscularity of even the largest human bodybuilders," reflecting an American cultural ideal of a super muscular man . Also, female dolls reflect the cultural ideal of thinness in women . </P> <P> The ancient Greek sculptor Polykleitos (c. 450--420 BC), known for his ideally proportioned bronze Doryphoros, wrote an influential Canon describing the proportions to be followed in sculpture . The Canon applies the basic mathematical concepts of Greek geometry, such as the ratio, proportion, and symmetria (Greek for "harmonious proportions") creating a system capable of describing the human form through a series of continuous geometric progressions . Polykleitos uses the distal phalanx of the little finger as the basic module for determining the proportions of the human body, scaling this length up repeatedly by √ 2 to obtain the ideal size of the other phalanges, the hand, forearm, and upper arm in turn . </P>

What is the normal leg to torso ratio