Scientists from the University of Arizona and the University of Texas at Austin have identified a relationship between appearance and lifespan. According to research findings published in the academic journal Social Science and Medicine (16+), individuals who are considered more attractive tend to live longer compared to those who are considered less attractive.
65 years of information was collected and analyzed on more than 8,300 Wisconsin high school graduates. Experts compared assessments of participants' attractiveness, made by independent experts based on photo analysis, with mortality data.
Research findings
The results showed that men rated as unattractive lived, on average, almost one year less than those rated as attractive. The difference for women is more pronounced: women with low attractiveness scores live two years less than women with high attractiveness scores.
What explains the results of the study?
Scientists acknowledge that the specific mechanisms linking attractiveness and longevity have not yet been clarified. It is assumed that physical attractiveness can serve as an indicator of general health: a healthy person is likely to look better.
In addition, external attractiveness has a positive impact on a person’s social life. Attractive people often have certain advantages in society, such as higher salaries, positive treatment from others, and even more lenient court decisions.
Sociologist Connor Sheehan of Arizona State University has hypothesized that there is a genetic component to attractiveness that may directly influence life expectancy.
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