These men are also considered to be more physically aggressive. For a start, men with relatively longer ring fingers (a lower 2D:4D ratio) tend to be better at sport and are considered more attractive by women. Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? The long and the short of itĪmong men, the 2D:4D ratio has been linked to everything from appearance and personality to probability of risk-taking, success on the sports field and proneness to disease. There’s plenty of solid evidence this ratio has a lot to say about you, particularly if you’re male. On average, men have lower ratios than women – the average for men is around 0.95 and for women, closer to 1. The relatively longer your ring finger, the lower your 2D:4D ratio. That number is your very own personal 2D:4D ratio (D stands for digit). Divide the length of your index finger by the length of your ring finger. Which is longer? And by how much? If you want to do this properly, use a ruler to measure the length of your index and ring fingers (for consistency, measure your right hand) from the crease where your finger joins your palm to the fingertip. Look down at your hands and focus on the relative length of your index and ring fingers. Does that mean any suggestion our hands contain information about our character and health is dodgy pseudoscience? Not so fast. Despite many claims to the contrary, there’s also no evidence fingerprints reveal our personalities. You won’t be surprised to read I’m a sceptic: there’s zero evidence it works. Not only that, but palm readers also claim your palms predict your future, determining such things as how many children you’ll have and how long you’ll live. Palmistry began in India and purports to be able to describe your personality on the basis of the lines and marks on your palms. The art of palm reading has been around for thousands of years. In this context, our aim was to review and debate the relationship between 2D:4D ratio and sex-steroids activity in children, adolescents and young adults.Īcne Alopecia Digit length ratio (2D:4D) Genitourinary disorders PCOS Sex-steroids.Is your index finger longer or shorter than your ring finger? And why does it matter? Image credit: Yamashita Yohei via Flickr Talk to the hand Nevertheless, its validity has not yet been conclusively demonstrated and is currently debated. In contrast, individuals with Klinefelter syndrome (KS), who have reduced testosterone secretion throughout life, have a mean 2D:4D value similar to those found in female population norms. This tentative theory is partially supported by lower 2D:4D in girls with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), higher 2D:4D in individuals with complete androgen insensitivity syndrome (CAIS) and a relationship between 2D:4D and polymorphisms in the androgen receptor. It has also been reported that the 2D:4D ratio is correlated negatively with prenatal testosterone levels. Digits in females attain their maximum length at about 2.2 years (dextral subjects) or 5.1 years (sinistral subjects) earlier than those in males and increase slightly with age. This sexual dimorphism in 2D:4D ratios is apparent by 2 years of age and seems to be established early in life, possibly by the 14th week of gestation. This gender difference in digit length ratios has been linked with the in utero balance of androgens to oestrogen. The second-to-fourth digit ratio (2D:4D) has been used as an indirect method to investigate the putative effects of prenatal exposure to androgens, and has been reported to be smaller in males than in females.

Low 2d 4d ratio penis