Your Favorite Superhero Is Probably Unhealthy

BOSTON (CBS) - While millions continue to flock to the new "Avengers: Endgame" movie, a new study finds that your favorite comic book superhero may not have a particularly healthy physique. In fact, they are usually either too big or too small.

Researchers at Binghamton University and SUNY Oswego studied more than 3,700 Marvel Comics characters, looking at their body mass index and their physical dimensions, including their shoulder-to-waist ratios, waist-to-hip ratios, upper body muscles and breast dimensions.

They found that male superheroes were on average "obese," largely due to their exaggerated upper body bulk. Whereas female superheroes tended to be on the low end of normal weight with lower than average waist-to-hip ratios.

While hyper-masculine and hyper-feminine features may be considered attractive, they're usually not humanly possible. So even though athletic actors are often chosen to portray these characters on the big screen, costume designers have to modify the suits to make them look even more robust than they are in real life.