Social scientists have given relatively scant attention to the association between attractiveness and longevity. But attractiveness may convey underlying health, and it systematically structures critical social stratification processes. We evaluated these issues using the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS, N = 8386), a survey of Wisconsin high school graduates from 1957 which provided large samples of women and men observed until their death (or through their early 80s). In doing so, we utilized a meticulously constructed measure of facial attractiveness based on the independent ratings of high-school yearbook photographs. We used linked death information from the National Death Index-plus through 2022 and Cox proportional hazard models as well as standard life-table techniques. We found that the least attractive rated sextile of the sample had significantly higher hazards of mortality (HR: 1.168, p < 0.01) compared to the middle rated four sextiles of attractiveness. This finding remained robust to the inclusion of covariates describing high-school achievement, intelligence, family background, earnings as adults, as well as mental and physical health in middle adulthood. We also found that different specifications of the attractiveness measure consistently indicated no significant differences in the mortality hazard between highly attractive and average-looking people. Using life-table techniques, we next illustrated that among women in the least attractive sextile, at age 20 their life expectancy was nearly 2 years less than others’; among men in the least attractive sextile, it was nearly 1 year less at age 20.
In terms of sexual attraction one would expect that females who appear to be more healthy and therefore likely to be more capable of carrying young to term would attract more attention from males in any mammalian species.
Also, we know that in our looks-ist society, attractive women are treated better, and therefore they might be given other health advantages… including better attention from their healthcare providers… better access… sigh
Yes, I do think it’s the social benefits one gets from being attractive.
My experience is that attractive people are on the whole nicer people and people tend to be nicer to them. Unattractive people often develop social traits that are unattractive, perhaps as a defense mechanism. Attractive people tend to have more friends and studies have shown that this is a factor in lifespan.
Unfortunately, this is up to the genes. If you are attractive you have lucky genes.
Not just good-looking women. As a former morbidly obese man, I went from being treated as a subhuman to invisible to having people smile at me at times.
I hadn’t noticed that attractive people are themselves nicer? I don’t doubt you. I have noticed that some feel very entitled and have not had to try as hard to develop their brains/senses of humor/work ethic. I just might know shallow people!
People do want to be around attractive people, so that makes sense regarding how having friends helps longevity.
And yessss people are nicer. I knew it would happen and was prepared, but as an aging woman, it is so stark to notice how one becomes invisible to men. No one rushing to do you favors, WTAF?!
@Virilius I’m sadly not surprised to hear your experience and I’m sorry. I’m glad you are being treated differently now. People truly suck!!!
I told my wife many years ago when she was worried about whether her outfit was appropriate for an event. I told her, “Sorry, we are old”. No one notices old people, I certainly don’t.
And on that note, the other day I needed to go into a parking lot to charge my car. I told the attendant I only need to be in there for 10 minute. He said that will be $3 please. I texted my husband “he didn’t let me in for free, I’m officially very old!”
Attractiveness, like wealth is a privilege. It can be either inherited or worked for. Both ways tend to create a barrier or bubble that generally makes the privileged less compassionate. So I bristle a little when I hear someone say “My experience is that attractive people are on the whole nicer people”. Yes, “Attractive people tend to have more friends”, and " If you are attractive you have lucky genes." But does that privilege make you nicer? Or just less understanding of all the things that make life hard for most people?
When I was growing up there was more of a dichotomy between jocks and nerds, physicality vs intellectuality. Today, the attitude, as in many areas, is you can have it all. See for example, Peter Attia or Andrew Huberman. The older and more experienced I get, the more I understand that, especially for men, the power of female physical attractiveness (and youth) is biological and will never be overcome but that you shouldn’t ascribe other attributes - like niceness - just because you emotionally want to like them.
The book posted above By @RapAdmin covers a lot of this. And I found an excellent review and discussion of it here:
Oh, and on the question of whether they live longer, it’s probably the same as asking “Do wealthy or successful people live longer?”. Or maybe it leads to another question - Can attractive people be unhealthy?
My theory is that attractive people are treated nicely and tend to treat others as well.
Of course, there are many exceptions, like the cheerleaders with their noses in the air, some jocks as well. But on the whole, even to this day, I feel that attractive people treat me more nicely than unattractive people.
I certainly see your point, and I think that when life is easier, people should be happier and that should spill over to those around them. Sometimes that’s true. But the other side of the coin is to look at so-called “spoiled” kids or adults.
I don’t think I’m good looking or ugly but rather average. What I am in comparison to the majority of people where I live is fit and that does bring a certain amount of attention when I’m out and about. I live in a place with one of the highest obesity rates in the US so I stick out for that reason alone. When I was obese briefly in 2015-2016 it was like being invisible which I liked in some ways. I really do not enjoy being noticed or having people check me out at all. Most people were equally nice to me when I was fat but a few were not. I could tell there were some people attracted to heavy people back then by the way they looked at me. It was the same experience when I had short hair v long. Beauty does seem to be somewhat in the eye of the beholder.
This title is misleading. It should be “bad looking people live shorter” not “good looking people live longer”. The study found that the least attractive 1/6th lived shorter not that the most attractive live longer than average attractive people. So even average looking people live longer than the least attractive 1/6th.
To your point, as a whole, I do believe they are less empathetic to those who don’t have that advantage, just as most people in any group with privilege can never truly relate (not all!).
I actually have too much empathy which is why I am vegan, so I think, for some, it is just wiring?
I think this may be overly simplistic. Certainly some aspects of attractiveness is in the genes, but like most things, I suspect that “environment” plays a role also. One key aspect of “attractiveness” is facial symmetry - and discontinuities in this area seem likely to be caused by prenatal environmental factors… the following isn’t necessarily the best overview of this, just one I found on a quick search.
Beginning during embryonic development and continuing through growth and maturity, the same developmental genes should be activated in the same cells, at the same time, and with the same dosage. In the ideal situation, all of that unfolds identically in the left and right sides of our faces, leading to perfect symmetry between the two halves.
Of course, in the real world, the tiniest fluctuations in gene expression and cellular activity lead to small differences between the two halves of our face.
Look closely at your face in the mirror (or a friend’s face). You can usually see that one eye is slightly larger than the other. The larger eye is also usually higher. The nostrils usually show asymmetry in their size and shape as well, and the height and size of the ears can be surprisingly asymmetric also.
Apparently there are TikTok filters to optimize your facial symmetry:
Given that this effect only applies to the 1/6 least attractive, there is a more biological explanation : Those born with poor immune systems tend to develop scars and skin blemishes from childhood diseases, skin infections or even allergic reactions, all of which would be expected to be predictive of future health problems. In fact, biologists believe this “skin blemish” based drop in sexual attractiveness is present in most primates and makes sense from an evolutionary perspective.
The same is probably true for facial symmetry : the genetic problems that cause growth asymmetry during the embryonic phase may be predictive of problems with healing and repair.
sigh
