Any baby faces, i.e. Cory, in this group? If so, you're going to live to a ripe old age
- From: "La N" <nilita2004NOSPAM@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 15 Dec 2009 05:42:09 GMT
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1235639/Are-baby-face-Then-youll-live-ripe-old-age.html?ITO=1490&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dailymail%2Fdietfitness+%28Diet+%26+fitness+|+Mail+Online%29
Are you a baby face? Then you'll live to a ripe old age
By Jenny Hope
Last updated at 10:01 AM on 14th December 2009
People who look young for their age are already the envy of their peers.
But those holding back the years haven't just been blessed in the looks
department.
Scientists have shown that looking younger than you are also means you will
enjoy a longer life.
Not only do the wrinkles remain at bay, but the Grim Reaper takes longer to
call, according to researchers.
PHOTO:Fresh faced: Cliff Richard has managed to hold on to his youthful
appearance
They suggest patients could give their GPs a photo of themselves for their
medical records as this would be as good a guide to their longevity as
complicated testing.
Professor Kaare Christensen, from the University of Southern Denmark, set
out to test the belief that a person's perceived age gives a general
indication of his health.
His team looked at twins to see whether perceived age - basically how old
others think you are - is linked with survival, as well as important
age-related traits such as physical functioning and brainpower.
The researchers also examined evidence relating to chromosomes and DNA and
their effect on longevity.
But in the end, it seems, the best method of research was simply a long hard
look in the mirror.
'It's probably easy to explain because people who've had a tougher life are
more likely to die early - and their life is reflected in their face,'
Professor Christensen said.
The research started back in spring 2001, when 1,826 Danish twins aged 70
years and over underwent physical and cognitive tests and had their faces
photographed.
Three groups of assessors rated the perceived age of the twins from the
photographs.
The assessors did not know the age range of the twins, and each twin of a
pair had their age assessed on different days.
Death records were then used to track the survival of the twins over a
seven-year period, say findings published on the British Medical Journal
website bmj.com.
Perceived age was significantly associated with survival, even after
adjusting for chronological age, sex, and the environment in which each pair
of twins grew up.
The bigger the difference in perceived age within a twin pair, the more
likely it was that the olderlooking twin died first.
Professor Christensen also investigated whether longevity was linked to the
length of telomeres, which are tiny 'caps' on the ends of chromosomes that
protect the strands of DNA from inflammation and other ageing processes.
Longer telomeres are a sign of being biologically younger and also of being
healthier.
He dismissed the telomere tests as complicated and only helping establish a
weak link with longevity.
Far better, he said, to simply look at a person's face.
And what if that face has a been tweaked a little by the cosmetic surgeon?
Professor Christensen said such surgery was uncommon in the part of Denmark
where the study was carried out, so was not a major factor.
Read more:
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