If you thought women swayed their hips in an attempt to be seductive, think again.
Though the swivelling action may help attract male attention, it's governed by female hormones and isn't a conscious action, New Scientist reports.
A study published in the British weekly indicates that women witha sway in their step are unlikely to be ovulating.
A team at Queen's University in Ontario, Canada, dressed female volunteers in suits which had light reflectors placed on the joints and limbs and filmed them walking in order to analyse their gait.
The women also gave a saliva sample to assess their hormone levels.
The researchers found that women who were ovulating walked with smaller hip movements and with their knees closer together, AFP reports.
To test whether the women's walks affected the way they were viewed by men, the researchers also asked 40 male volunteers to watch footage of the women and rate those with the sexiest strides.
The winners were those who turned out to be in the least fertile part of their menstrual cycles.
The study appears to run counter to recent research that found men respond more readily towards women at ovulation, AFP reported.
But the Canadian researchers believe, there is no contradiction, because a fertile woman gives out "come-hither" signals at close range rather than at a distance.
Women pick up on scent molecules known as pheromones and note a man's facial expressions from a distance, thereby vetting a potential mate before he gets too close.
In this way, the researchers conclude, having a less sexy walk at the time of ovulation gives a woman an evolutionary advantage - she can hide her fertile period from an undesirable man who might want to take advantage of her at the time.
