When it comes to love - or, more accurately, attraction - size really does matter, writes Ben Leapman in The Sunday Telegraph.

Two economists from Britain's University of Essex analyzed the choices made by 3,600 people at 84 speed-dating events across the country. They found: For every inch taller a man is than his "rivals," the number of women who want to meet him again increases by 5 per cent. Being fat makes no difference to a man's success, but a woman who is clinically overweight is selected by 70 per cent fewer men.

Women who are unhealthily thin are no more or less successful than women of normal weight. Each extra year of age, compared with others in the group, reduces a man's success by 4 per cent and a woman's by 5 per cent.

So it seems it’s between overweight women and short men. But should size or height matter? There is someone out there for everyone, regardless of age, size, appearance, or height. Everyone deserves love. Whether you want to find that special someone at a speed-dating event is up to you!