BEAUTY may be more than just skin deep, after all.
Scientists have suggested that the more attractive you are, the stronger your immunity is – and therefore, you’re at lower risk of catching Covid.
It could explain why you or a friend has still managed to dodge Covid, despite being exposed to it a dozen times.
The theory was tested on a bunch of participants.
Researchers took photos and blood tests of 79 women and 80 men at Texas Christian University.
Afterward, 492 other volunteers were asked to rate the facial attractiveness of the participants based on the facial photos that were taken.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as they say.
However, in the opinion of the study, researchers, universal understanding of “good looks” transcend time and even cultures.
“Features such as clear skin, prominent cheekbones, bright eyes and full, red lips have been deemed attractive throughout recorded human history,” said the paper, published by Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
A symmetrical face has also been consistently shown as favourable in research.
The study found that the hottest participants had higher levels of natural killer immune cells and phagocytosis in their blood samples.
Phagocytosis is “the process by which specific white blood cells ingest foreign particles”.
It’s used to fight off bacterial infections of viruses, such as Covid-19.
‘More than a pretty face’
The researchers propose that it’s not a person’s beauty that makes them less likely to get sick.
Rather, their highly functioning immune system makes them appear more beautiful, as voted by other people.
They propose that facial features considered to be attractive could actually be markers of good health.
“The features that humans universally perceive as attractive may provide cues to unobservable qualities possessed by a target that impact fitness, including health and immune function,” the paper said.
It implies that our attraction to a beautiful person is rooted in trying to find a partner that will benefit the survival of our offspring.
Features such as bright eyes and clear skin can also be an indicator that a person is healthy.
“It is also possible that links between attractiveness and health may be obscured in modern humans, given that human mate preferences were forged before the advent of modern medicine,” the authors suggest.
“That is, although attractiveness may have cued both health and immune function in ancestral populations, the links with health may no longer occur as modern medicine allows those with low immunocompetence to stay in relatively good health.”
Summer Mengelkoch, who led the study, told the Daily Mail: “People who go out to a bar looking to talk to someone attractive are often dismissed as being shallow and told, ‘It is not all about looks’.
“But they are really just following their instincts to find a high-quality mate.”
Previous research into attractiveness and health have not always made the same conclusions, the authors note.
Top immunologists do think there could be a reason behind why some people appear super immune to Covid.
It could be down to their genetics or prior immunity to other virsues – but so far, it remains a mystery.
