Why do men say this kind of thing

[RinkaIsAStrangeNameforADog]

A friend of mine is seeing a man she really likes (early stages) who when they were out on a date said to her about an ex-gf "she had a perfect body - no spare fat anywhere". My friend is a beautifully slim woman and this is obviously playing on her mind as she has mentioned it two or three times.

It reminded me of a similar thing I experienced some time ago with a man I was seeing who was talking about a woman he used to date a long time ago (I mean years - marriage and kids on both sides since then) and was just friends with "when she was young, she was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen". I'd met this woman many times and can say for sure that this objectively is not true - but even though I knew it was not true, like me friend, it really bothered me as well.

I kept thinking "I wish he saw me like that. He's obviously never going to be as into me as he was into her."

Anyway my question is "WHY would a man say this to a woman he is dating?"

I'm looking for something a bit more sophisticated than "he's an arsehole."!!!!

I just don't get it - I'm aware of the whole negging player culture (slightly dissing a woman to arouse her insecurity before making a move) - but in neither case was it that situation. Both were dating relationships.

Is it thoughtlessness? Is it deliberately cruel? Is it a way of making themselves feel better ("I am a great guy because I have had hot women")? Is it deliberate to make the woman insecure?

WHY would you say this kind of thing to a woman you are dating? I would never dream of saying to a man "My ex-bf had the biggest cock/bank balance/ most perfect 6 pack I've ever seen". So why do men do this??

It's his own insecurity, by saying these type of things a man is saying "look at what a catch I am, beautiful women date me"

But sad really

There's a general level on which I'd be turned off by somebody who really didn't take care of themselves - smelly/shabby clothes/serious obesity.

But I'd also find somebody who, on a first date, talked about preferred body types and the beauty of the people they had gone out with, a total dickhead.

I would have no intention of seeing such a person again.

It's to trigger jealousy and competition and fuck with her head. It's pathetic.

The posters saying about context - in both cases it was early stages - so it wasn't in the context of a general evolving chat about a person's history.

It was information volunteered almost cold with no real conversational need to say it IYKWIM.

I just don't get why in those early stages when you are or should be trying to impress the other person, a man would say this kind of thing.

In both situations, the woman (me and my friend) were probably more interested in the man than he was in us each - which makes it stranger to me.

In the comparison way, I understand why if you were well into a relationship and happened to have a conversation about a previous partner, you might say he was enormously wealthy/very tall/6 pack if it came up. I just don't see why you would bring up something out of the blue as if to make a point in the early stages that you know would invite comparison and is an area most women are sensitive about (Weight and how they look).

It's like volunteering that the best sex you ever had was with another person. It might be true but why say that -it's only going to be hurtful.