Attractive people are less likely to get tinnitus — and
asthma, diabetes, and high blood pressure, according to new research.
The more physically attractive men and women are rated, the
more unlikely they are to suffer from a wide range of health problems, from
high cholesterol to depression.
They also feel healthier, have less time off work and are
diagnosed with fewer physical and mental health conditions during their
lifetime.
These extraordinary findings by U.S. researchers are based
on a study of 15,000 men and women aged 24 to 35 who have been followed since
they were ten.
It’s the biggest study yet to find links between
attractiveness and good health, and the first to home in on a number of
individual diseases.
The researchers, from the University of Cincinnati and other
centres, point out that, until now, most studies have been on students.
Their new research is based on interviews with a nationally
representative sample of the U.S. population.
And, unlike earlier studies, this is based on the
researchers’ ratings of the participants’ physical attractiveness done
face-to-face, rather than assessments based on pictures, drawings or videos.
The researchers, whose work is being published in the
journal Evolution And Human Behaviour, say that attractiveness may be a marker
of good genes, which also signal good health, as well as increasing the
likelihood of having healthy offspring.
The study involved face-to-face interviews and
questionnaires, as well as an analysis of health data.
The men and women were quizzed about whether they had been
diagnosed with various conditions or suffered symptoms of them.
Attractiveness rating was based on the assessment made by
each interviewer after a 90-minute session.
The men and women were put into five categories — very
unattractive, unattractive, about average, attractive or very attractive.
There were direct links between attractiveness and a number
of health conditions, and the more attractive the person was rated, the lower
the risk of ill-health.
For each increase in the rating of physical attractiveness for men, there was a 13 per cent reduction in the likelihood of a diagnosis for high cholesterol, a 20 per cent drop in the risk of high blood pressure, a 15 per cent reduction in the probability of being diagnosed with depression, a 23 per cent decrease in the likelihood of an ADHD diagnosis, and a 21 per cent lower likelihood of stuttering.
Women who were rated as more attractive were 21 per cent
less likely to be diagnosed with high blood pressure, 22 per cent less likely
to have diabetes, 12 per cent less likely to be asthmatic, 17 per cent less
likely to suffer from depression, 18 per cent less likely to receive an ADHD
diagnosis, 18 per cent less likely to stutter and 13 per cent less likely to
have tinnitus.
Both the men and women who were rated as very physically
attractive were also more positive about their own health and had fewer days
off work due to illness.
They also had a reduced number of chronic disease diagnoses,
of psychological disorders and of disease diagnoses overall.
The researchers suggest their findings support the theory
that attractiveness is a marker of healthy genes.
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