Evolution of life-history trade-offs in mate attractiveness and health: Comment on Weeden and Sabini (2005).

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Abstract
J. Weeden and J. Sabini's (2005) finding of small to no relation between traits rated as attractive in a mate and health of that mate might be interpreted as consistent with C. Darwin's (1859) proposal that these traits are arbitrary signs of beauty. However, such a conclusion would be premature. A combination of consistent empirical findings with nonhuman species and theoretical reasons argues for a continued search for honest signals of genetic fitness and reproductive health in human mate choices. Moreover, (a) even quite small relationships can be important when viewed across generations, and (b) traits that make a potential mate attractive at one age can result in poor health or early death at a later age. These life-history trade-offs greatly complicate the empirical study of attractiveness- health relations, and their potential importance has been underestimated by J. Weeden and J. Sabini. Weeden and Sabini (2005) have provided a useful review of (a) physical attractiveness as judged by members of the opposite sex and (b) the relationship between judged attractiveness and a vari- ety of health outcomes. These relationships are of theoretical importance because they are informative about the potential influ- ence of mate choice and reproductive competition—sexual selec- tion— on the evolution of related traits. Weeden and Sabini's review addresses issues specifically associated with choice of mates, which for most species involves female choice. Darwin (1859) proposed that associated male traits, such as a colorful plumage, are displays of "beauty to charm the females" (p. 199) and do not necessarily signal male health. Wallace (1892), in contrast, argued that female choice was more strongly influenced by the "bodily vigor" (p. 750) of the male than by his physical beauty. Despite these intriguing and testable hypotheses regarding the function of traits that influence mate choices, the study of sexual selection lay dormant for 100 years after publication of Darwin's (1871) masterwork on the topic. In recent decades, these hypoth- eses have recaptured the attention of the scientific community (Andersson, 1994; Trivers, 1972), and corresponding research has revealed that mate choice is more nuanced then implied by either Darwin's (1859) or Wallace's (1892) proposals. In the following sections, I illustrate a few of these nuances as they relate to the results of Weeden and Sabini's (2005) review. In the first section, I overview the importance of honest signals as related to mate choice and provide a context for interpreting the magnitude of any attractiveness- health relations. In the second section, I focus on trade-offs between the development of attractive traits at one age and potential health costs at a later age.

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