5 ms·

People who look young for their age 'live longer'

42 points by MikeCapone 17y ago

vaksel 17y ago
good news for me, I'm 26, and when I shave I look 18.
- MikeCapone 17y ago
  Same here (except I'm 27).
  - phaedrus 17y ago
    Several years ago, I was refused a job interview: the interviewer told me "we only hire people at least 16." I was 20 at the time!!
    - MikeCapone 17y ago
      Didn't you have ID with proof of age?
    - quizbiz 17y ago
      I had a similar yet strangely opposite experience. I was able to get a job this summer after a lot of persistence on my part. Only after a week or so they bring out the paper work which I would need a parent to sign. They thought I was 13.
  - electromagnetic 17y ago
    I get this, if I'm shaved I get ID'd in any liquor serving establishment on the planet, with a beard I've never been questioned. This worked amazing when I was legally under age as I started growing a beard at like 14.
  - ellyagg 17y ago
    I got pulled over when I was learning to drive, with my dad in the car, because the cop didn't think I was old enough to even have a learner's permit. Like, it was so far out of the realm of possibility, that he felt compelled to pull me over. I have dozens of stories like this now.
- jjs 17y ago
  It follows, then, that shaving will make you live longer...
  - weaksauce 17y ago
    correlation is not causation (joke)
narag 17y ago
When I was 29, I was penniless and in the military. I went to a travel agency decided to cheat about my age to get a discount in a plane ticket, so I could go home after many months. I was advised to learn a fake birth date by heart, but I trusted too much my math ability and instead of 19, I actually implied that I was 17, so I paid an even cheaper ticket. Looking younger has many advantages, but also some drawbacks. People tends not to take you seriously. Or maybe it's me.
- dasil003 17y ago
  You need more than math skills: http://www.hulu.com/watch/870/30-rock-twenty-nine#s-p31-sr-i1 http://www.hulu.com/watch/870/30-rock-twenty-nine#s-p31-sr-i...
- xtho 17y ago
  Just take care you don't look like 50 once you're 40 -- and even young looking people can age quickly at that age. If this is an advantage or not, probably depends on whether it's discounts or, well, girls :-) you're after. I personally find the article's conclusion rather tautological. Especially since with elderly people even a minor illness can make them look older within days.
- anigbrowl 17y ago
  Looking younger has many advantages, but also some drawbacks. People tends not to take you seriously. Or maybe it's me. I don't think it's you. I'm 39 and I still get carded when I'm clean-shaven, which is one reason I wear a beard. Now, a lot of places have absurd policies ('we card if you look under 30') to avoid losing their alcohol sales license, but being told it's a compliment on my youthful looks gets old after a while. Side note: after so many years of looking fresh-faced, I'm increasingly aware of actual changes in my looks and health as I age. I doubt this study corrects for the possibility of people who party their way into an early grave from a misplaced sense of personal immortality.
raju 17y ago
I am not sure how to take this - I get such varying age guesses. I am 31 and have been told that I don't look older than 21 (and that's usually the case - When clean shaven most people gauge me waay lower than 31). On the flip side, there are times when I was 25-26 and girls I met would think I was in my 30's :(
- nostrademons 17y ago
  I think context matters a whole lot. I'm 28. When I'm out with my parents, most people seem to assume I'm in college. When I'm out with older coworkers - folks in their 30s and 40s - most people tend to assume I'm in my late 20s (I never once got carded for alcohol at my old employer, because I'd go out for drinks with folks 10 years older than me). Most of my Google coworkers - who tend to average around 25 - think I'm roughly their age, although when I've gone out with them we get mistaken for college students a lot. I was mistaken for a Stanford student last time I caught the shuttle back from the airport, solo. I still can't explain getting carded for Terminator 3 when I was 23, though. Particularly since I was out with a friend who was a couple years younger and didn't get carded, plus another friend who was much older (50s-ish) and had white hair. Even if I were under 17, it still wouldn't have been illegal, since I was seeing it with them.
  - shrughes 17y ago
    Even if I were under 17, it still wouldn't have been illegal, since I was seeing it with them. Just to be pedantic, it wouldn't be illegal to see the movie alone, either.
dasil003 17y ago
It seems extremely plausible that whatever makes people look old also causes them to be old to some measurable degree.
- roc 17y ago
  I believe that's a fairly well-understood effect: the physical characteristics that we associate with 'age' are literally the visual symptoms of the body gradually falling into disrepair. This study seems to go a bit deeper, testing whether this heuristic assessment of 'age' from the states of visible systems is a useful proxy for the 'age' of non-visible ones. If there were no relationship, one would expect that apparent age would have no identifiable correlation with longevity.
  - dasil003 17y ago
    Seems to me determining what systems are "visible" is a monumental task in and of itself, requiring the scientific combination a lot of fields that don't usually talk to each other too much.
Timothee 17y ago
While I'm glad to read that kind of things (for looking young myself ;) ), I'm surprised that the study was limited to 70+ year-old twins. It feels a bit specific to draw such large conclusions.
- roc 17y ago
  The fact that genetically identical twins can have such different apparent ages suggests a younger sample would be fraught with lifestyle variable problems. Even if you could record the data perfectly, trying to control for those variables would be a logistical nightmare. I'd be interested to see deeper follow-ups with increasingly-younger samples, but the only scientific conclusion one can draw from this study is whether or not a hypothesized relationship between 'apparent' age and 'actual' age are trivially falsifiable. (apparently not) That the marketing and press over-reach is a social failing; not a fault of the study.
ComputerGuru 17y ago
Am I the only one here to whom this does not apply? :'( I'm 21 and people are constantly surprised to hear I'm a day under 28. Perhaps it's the full beard or something, but I actually enjoy it - I spent the first 15 years of my life dying to be taken as seriously as I felt/thought and my age was always an obstacle in intellectual discussions or business matters.... so I for one am glad to be considered 7 to 10 years older!
- foulmouthboy 17y ago
  It does apply to you in that you probably won't live as long as the rest of us. :)
  - ComputerGuru 17y ago
    Touché!!
- gjm11 17y ago
  More likely, it's just that someone's more likely to comment here if it gives them an opportunity to boast about looking young. I predict that if you're still looking 7 years older than your age at 30, you won't be so happy about it :-).
inovica 17y ago
Just the add something here. I used to look older than I was and part of that I put down to stessful, long-hours of work and eating bad food. I met a nutritionist who recommended that I only eat really healthy foods (no time to go into that right now!) as well as to try yoga. Since then I slowly changed my diet, do yoga a few times a week and meditate daily if possible. I'm often told that I look ten years younger now.
tremendo 17y ago
Some people look younger but looks do catch up to age, at least it felt like that for me on my late 30's. And—I know he lives still—the idea of Michael J. Fox came to mind as counter-example.

42 points by MikeCapone 17y ago

vaksel 17y ago

good news for me, I'm 26, and when I shave I look 18.

MikeCapone 17y ago
Same here (except I'm 27).
- phaedrus 17y ago
  Several years ago, I was refused a job interview: the interviewer told me "we only hire people at least 16." I was 20 at the time!!
  - MikeCapone 17y ago
    Didn't you have ID with proof of age?
  - quizbiz 17y ago
    I had a similar yet strangely opposite experience. I was able to get a job this summer after a lot of persistence on my part. Only after a week or so they bring out the paper work which I would need a parent to sign. They thought I was 13.
- electromagnetic 17y ago
  I get this, if I'm shaved I get ID'd in any liquor serving establishment on the planet, with a beard I've never been questioned. This worked amazing when I was legally under age as I started growing a beard at like 14.
- ellyagg 17y ago
  I got pulled over when I was learning to drive, with my dad in the car, because the cop didn't think I was old enough to even have a learner's permit. Like, it was so far out of the realm of possibility, that he felt compelled to pull me over. I have dozens of stories like this now.
jjs 17y ago
It follows, then, that shaving will make you live longer...
- weaksauce 17y ago
  correlation is not causation (joke)

narag 17y ago

When I was 29, I was penniless and in the military. I went to a travel agency decided to cheat about my age to get a discount in a plane ticket, so I could go home after many months. I was advised to learn a fake birth date by heart, but I trusted too much my math ability and instead of 19, I actually implied that I was 17, so I paid an even cheaper ticket. Looking younger has many advantages, but also some drawbacks. People tends not to take you seriously. Or maybe it's me.

dasil003 17y ago
You need more than math skills: http://www.hulu.com/watch/870/30-rock-twenty-nine#s-p31-sr-i1 http://www.hulu.com/watch/870/30-rock-twenty-nine#s-p31-sr-i...
xtho 17y ago
Just take care you don't look like 50 once you're 40 -- and even young looking people can age quickly at that age. If this is an advantage or not, probably depends on whether it's discounts or, well, girls :-) you're after. I personally find the article's conclusion rather tautological. Especially since with elderly people even a minor illness can make them look older within days.
anigbrowl 17y ago
Looking younger has many advantages, but also some drawbacks. People tends not to take you seriously. Or maybe it's me. I don't think it's you. I'm 39 and I still get carded when I'm clean-shaven, which is one reason I wear a beard. Now, a lot of places have absurd policies ('we card if you look under 30') to avoid losing their alcohol sales license, but being told it's a compliment on my youthful looks gets old after a while. Side note: after so many years of looking fresh-faced, I'm increasingly aware of actual changes in my looks and health as I age. I doubt this study corrects for the possibility of people who party their way into an early grave from a misplaced sense of personal immortality.

raju 17y ago

I am not sure how to take this - I get such varying age guesses. I am 31 and have been told that I don't look older than 21 (and that's usually the case - When clean shaven most people gauge me waay lower than 31). On the flip side, there are times when I was 25-26 and girls I met would think I was in my 30's :(

nostrademons 17y ago
I think context matters a whole lot. I'm 28. When I'm out with my parents, most people seem to assume I'm in college. When I'm out with older coworkers - folks in their 30s and 40s - most people tend to assume I'm in my late 20s (I never once got carded for alcohol at my old employer, because I'd go out for drinks with folks 10 years older than me). Most of my Google coworkers - who tend to average around 25 - think I'm roughly their age, although when I've gone out with them we get mistaken for college students a lot. I was mistaken for a Stanford student last time I caught the shuttle back from the airport, solo. I still can't explain getting carded for Terminator 3 when I was 23, though. Particularly since I was out with a friend who was a couple years younger and didn't get carded, plus another friend who was much older (50s-ish) and had white hair. Even if I were under 17, it still wouldn't have been illegal, since I was seeing it with them.
- shrughes 17y ago
  Even if I were under 17, it still wouldn't have been illegal, since I was seeing it with them. Just to be pedantic, it wouldn't be illegal to see the movie alone, either.

dasil003 17y ago

It seems extremely plausible that whatever makes people look old also causes them to be old to some measurable degree.

roc 17y ago
I believe that's a fairly well-understood effect: the physical characteristics that we associate with 'age' are literally the visual symptoms of the body gradually falling into disrepair. This study seems to go a bit deeper, testing whether this heuristic assessment of 'age' from the states of visible systems is a useful proxy for the 'age' of non-visible ones. If there were no relationship, one would expect that apparent age would have no identifiable correlation with longevity.
- dasil003 17y ago
  Seems to me determining what systems are "visible" is a monumental task in and of itself, requiring the scientific combination a lot of fields that don't usually talk to each other too much.

Timothee 17y ago

While I'm glad to read that kind of things (for looking young myself ;) ), I'm surprised that the study was limited to 70+ year-old twins. It feels a bit specific to draw such large conclusions.

roc 17y ago
The fact that genetically identical twins can have such different apparent ages suggests a younger sample would be fraught with lifestyle variable problems. Even if you could record the data perfectly, trying to control for those variables would be a logistical nightmare. I'd be interested to see deeper follow-ups with increasingly-younger samples, but the only scientific conclusion one can draw from this study is whether or not a hypothesized relationship between 'apparent' age and 'actual' age are trivially falsifiable. (apparently not) That the marketing and press over-reach is a social failing; not a fault of the study.

ComputerGuru 17y ago

Am I the only one here to whom this does not apply? :'( I'm 21 and people are constantly surprised to hear I'm a day under 28. Perhaps it's the full beard or something, but I actually enjoy it - I spent the first 15 years of my life dying to be taken as seriously as I felt/thought and my age was always an obstacle in intellectual discussions or business matters.... so I for one am glad to be considered 7 to 10 years older!

foulmouthboy 17y ago
It does apply to you in that you probably won't live as long as the rest of us. :)
- ComputerGuru 17y ago
  Touché!!
gjm11 17y ago
More likely, it's just that someone's more likely to comment here if it gives them an opportunity to boast about looking young. I predict that if you're still looking 7 years older than your age at 30, you won't be so happy about it :-).

inovica 17y ago

Just the add something here. I used to look older than I was and part of that I put down to stessful, long-hours of work and eating bad food. I met a nutritionist who recommended that I only eat really healthy foods (no time to go into that right now!) as well as to try yoga. Since then I slowly changed my diet, do yoga a few times a week and meditate daily if possible. I'm often told that I look ten years younger now.

tremendo 17y ago

Some people look younger but looks do catch up to age, at least it felt like that for me on my late 30's. And—I know he lives still—the idea of Michael J. Fox came to mind as counter-example.