losing an extra 10lb. in weight could age a woman by on average four years

An issue which many people face when losing weight is when exactly to stop. If you have a fuller figure you may be tempted to go the extra mile and look very skinny but this could also make you look and drawn out and tired which might stop you looking your best. It is well known that if you have plump cheeks and a fuller face you look younger than you do you have the tight and angular features of a thinner person.  Research done in America on 200 sets of identical twins over a two year period saw that losing an extra 10lb. in weight could age a woman by on average four years.

Dr Bahaman Guyuron from the Case Western Reserve University in Ohio commented that a BMI four points higher was seen to give the impression of a younger age of between two and four years in women over the age of 40. Interestingly it wasn’t just weight which made them women look older but also whether they were married or not. For example divorcees tended to look older than the married or single women by almost two years on average. Other things which made one of the twins look older than the other one were smoking, drinking, depression and excessive sunbathing.

According to Rajiv Grover from the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons changes in the shape of somebody’s face is more relevant in making them look older than simple wrinkles and that is why people who lose plumpness in their cheeks look older and this can be brought on by excessive dieting. He also warned about excessive yoyo dieting which stretches and then releases the facial ligaments because this would cause bigger jowls and facial lines.

This research highlights the importance of eating healthily as opposed to being purely focused on your body mass.  People who eat healthily also have better skin and this obviously makes you look younger. Dr Guyuron is continuing his research using male twins to see if the various factors such as body weight influence male ageing too.