The ugly truth: Less attractive people live shorter lives than those deemed better looking, study finds
It may seem unfair, but if you’re unattractive, you’re more likely to die younger than your attractive peers.
In fact, “ugly” men live on average almost a year less than men who were considered handsome.
And according to an American study, unattractive women die on average two years earlier than better-looking women. study published in Social Science and Medicine.
Researchers from Arizona State University and the University of Texas at Austin analyzed data from a long-term study that followed more than 8,300 high school students in Wisconsin from 1957 until their old age or death in 2022.
In addition to lifelong health data, the researchers also collected yearbook photos and commissioned independent experts to rate their attractiveness.
Those in the bottom sextile for attractiveness were 16.8 percent more likely to die than those in the middle four rankings
The participants’ appearance was then ranked into six categories, from most to least attractive.
Using the National Death Index, researchers also compared deaths that had occurred in the group through 2022, finding that nearly half of the sample had died by the end of the follow-up period.
People in the bottom six attractiveness categories were 16.8 percent more likely to die than people in the middle four categories.
The difference in mortality rates between the middle four places and the places that scored highest for attractiveness was not significant.
“Little is known about the association between facial attractiveness and longevity,” social scientist Connor Sheehan of Arizona State University and economist Daniel Hamermesh of the University of Texas at Austin write in their published paper.
‘But attractiveness can be an indicator of underlying health and it systematically structures crucial social stratification processes.’
“Overall, we found that people with attractive faces in the least attractive sextile had a higher risk of mortality throughout their lifetime compared with people at average or high risk of mortality,” the study authors write.
‘Importantly, we found little advantage in longevity for people with high levels of attractiveness relative to the average.’
While attractiveness has not been shown to have a direct effect on longevity, it may well have an effect. For example, more attractive people may be healthier, Dr. Sheehan explained in an interview with Arizona State University.
He said: ‘Attractiveness may have a direct influence on longevity as extensive research has shown that attractiveness has a genetic component.’
But he adds that, as social media conversations about “beautiful privilege” show, attractive people are treated better in everyday interactions.
There is also extensive social science research showing that more attractive people earn more, are treated better by teachers, are less likely to commit crimes and, when they do, receive lighter sentences, Dr. Sheehan adds.
Dr. Hamermesh agrees that it’s possible that unattractive faces signal that people are already less healthy (for example, symmetrical faces indicate that people are more resistant to disease), but that social effects are a more likely explanation.
He argued that if the difference is caused by societal biases, the results could change.
“If people paid less attention to their appearance in everyday life, I’m sure that in 100 years we wouldn’t see these differences in lifespan,” he told the Times.