The Consolation Prize for Carrying a Few Extra Pounds
This lunch can make me look younger - but only if I ate the whole thing! I chose healthier, and ate half, instead.
We should always start off a new week by looking for a silver lining to our problems. This morning I found mine in this week’s issue of “Time” magazine. In a health article title “How to Look Young: Eat More” they discuss a study of twins that was just published in the journal “Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery”. In this study a panel of judges looked at identical twins and guessed their ages by looking at photos.
Among the younger twins, the heavier ones were perceived as older than the thinner twin. But in comparisons of twins older than age 40, the heavier twin was guesstimated to be significantly younger. Other lifestyle differences changed these results, particularly whether one twin smoked and the other didn’t, or the difference in sun exposure, both factors contributing to a more aged appearance.
I guess the extra pounds are nature’s little collagen treatment on our faces. If we keep them plumped with our own fat, we may not need to visit the dermatologist. The question we should ask ourselves, however, is whether it’s more important to feel marvelous and be healthy or to look marvelous and have underlying, weight related health problems? I’m still trying to feel marvelous and be healthy, but at least I know that the price of failure will save me a few collagen treatments as I age.
Comments
2 Responses to “The Consolation Prize for Carrying a Few Extra Pounds”
Got something to say?
As a person of a certain age, I know that the first place I lose weight is in my face which makes me look a little gaunt. It would be nice to pick and choose where we want the weight to come off, but alas, that is not possible, so I choose instead to have fries with my McDonald’s sometime!
Isn’t that so unfair? I lost about 25 pounds about 8 years ago (don’t worry, they’ve almost all been found since then) – and I stopped because I didn’t like the way my face was changing. Now if only those lost and found pounds could be put back on my face and leave my hips alone…