Think thin women are your “type,” men?

That may change as your stress levels rise.

A new study from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, published in the journal Ethology, found that men undergoing high levels of stress find heavier women more attractive than their less-stressed cohorts do.

Researchers at the university polled men going through grueling Army cadet training, as well as those whose environments were unchanged and largely stress-free.

The study found that as the cadets’ stress level increased, they were more likely to rate heavier female faces highly. This is likely because women who appear heavier are better able to survive tough times — like a famine or war — and continue to reproduce, the study authors posit.

The same wasn’t the case for women — stress didn’t appear to play a role in how women view skinnier or heavier men, which the researchers say could be the case because weight doesn’t play the same role for men’s reproductive health as it does for women’s.

Still, the authors say the study shows that preferences are malleable, and can be environmentally dependent.

“It appears that when the going gets tough, tougher-looking women become more attractive,” says researcher David Perrett.