Females should aspire to a 36-24-36 body shape, CBSE textbook seems to indicate (Reuters photo)

What is the perfect body type? A Class 12 textbook meant for Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) students is putting all speculation over that question to rest, declaring authoritatively that the much-celebrated 36-24-36 figure is, in fact, the "best" body shape for females.

It's not all hyperbole, though. The textbook, which The News Minute reports is titled Health and Physical Education Textbook, goes on to reason that even Miss World and Miss Universe beauty pageants take the 36-24-36 body shape into consideration while judging their contestants.

An image of the section of the textbook comparing the physical and anatomical differences between males and females was initially posted on social media by a Twitter user named Anuj Khurana.

The textbook doesn't stop at just female body shapes. A cursory sentence in the section on 'Differences in shape' says that when it comes to males, the 'V' body shape is considered the best.

According to The News Minute, the textbook has published by the New Saraswati House and not the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), which usually brings out textbooks used in CBSE schools.

After reports of the textbook started coming to light, the CBSE issued a clarification saying schools must take responsibility if they choose to include books of private publishers in their curriculum.

The CBSE has been in the news recently for seemingly controversial content that has appeared in its textbooks or examination papers.

Just a week ago, Class 12 students appearing for their biology examinations, were asked to answer which practice between burial and cremation was better. The students were asked to base their answers on which practice would help contain air pollution the best.

And, earlier this year, news emerged about a Class 4 textbook for environmental studies seemingly encouraging students to carry out an experiment that could lead to a kitten's death.

"You can do an experiment" a paragraph accompanied by graphics said, going on to encourage students to place two kittens in separate wooden boxes, one with holes in the lid and another one without.

The purpose? To show students how, if they carried out the experiment, the kitten in the box without holes would die.

(Story has been edited to include the CBSE's clarification)

Watch Video: CBSE Class 12 English Board Exam 2017: Students' reactions

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