Study shows how appearances can be extremely deceiving

May 12, 2010 17:31 GMT  ·  By
Celebrities who are thin, tanned and have great hair are not necessarily healthy, study on appearances says
   Celebrities who are thin, tanned and have great hair are not necessarily healthy, study on appearances says

They say “never judge a book by its cover” but they also say “first impressions are the most lasting.” Celebrity culture, for instance, is one in which perfecting the art of hiding appearances is a prerequisite of survival, which is how us, the public, have come to believe the men and women we read about, see on TV or in movies are the very picture of health. Not quite so, a recent study cited by the Daily Mail says.

British researchers from Nuffield Health conducted a survey precisely meant to show people just how wrong they were when they saw a skinny, tanned person with great hair and automatically believed they were healthy. In order to do so, they had over 2,500 volunteers look at a picture of a slim, tanned woman with wonderful hair, and of a paler man of regular weight who sported a scruffier look. All participants deduced that the woman was the healthiest of the two because of her skin, her hair and her figure, thus proving that we were easily deceived by appearances.

“Almost two thirds of those questioned (62 per cent) plumped for the woman. But when the pair were put through a battery of simple health checks, including glucose and cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and drinking and smoking habits, it was the man who came out on top. Six in ten said a glowing skin and healthy head of hair were signs of health – although both can be achieved with products bought over the pharmacy counter. The pictures also give no indication of danger spots that leave few outward clues. High blood pressure, for instance, affects at third of adults and doubles the risk of heart attacks and strokes. But it is usually symptomless until it is too late,” the Mail writes of the findings of the survey.

“We have bought into the perception that beautiful equals healthy. The beauty industry has developed some wonderful products that enable people to spray on a healthy look. Glossy hair and a dewy complexion are available in every high street chemist, enabling many of us to cheat our way to apparent vitality but good looking doesn’t always equate to good health. In fact, many of the most important indicators of health have no outwards signs,” Nuffield Health medical director Dr. Andy Jones says for the aforementioned publication.

As for thinness, which is now synonymous with beauty thanks to celebrity culture and fashion, it too can oftentimes be quite the opposite of an indicator of health, Dr. Jones explains. A person who is too thin can be malnourished or have an eating disorder or even suffer from an overactive thyroid, therefore they’re far from healthy, he adds.