Can attractiveness be affected by what you eat?

Since the latter half of the 20th century, the Western diet has seen a significant surge in refined carbohydrate consumption, leading to numerous adverse health effects. But could it also impact something as seemingly unrelated as facial attractiveness? Researchers from France set out to explore the relationship between facial attractiveness and immediate and chronic refined carbohydrate consumption.

For this study, the investigators recruited 104 subjects. They measured immediate and chronic consumption, focusing on glycemic load, a measure of how quickly carbohydrates raise blood sugar levels. Facial attractiveness was rated by the opposite sex using pictures taken two hours after a controlled breakfast.

Consuming a high glycemic breakfast led to decreased facial attractiveness for both men and women. Chronic consumption of refined carbohydrates during meals such as breakfast, afternoon snacking, and between-meal snacks also had varying effects on attractiveness, depending on the meal and gender.

Surprisingly, while a high energy intake generally increased attractiveness, the effect was reversed for men during the afternoon snack. In this case, a high glycemic load actually increased attractiveness.

Importantly, these findings held true even after controlling for factors like age, BMI, physical activity, and more. The researchers suggest that the effects may be mediated by changes in perceived age and masculinity/femininity.

While this may seem like a very shallow study and probably needs more attention via future studies, it does bring into light the importance of how what we eat can effect our looks through subtle hormonal changes, but acutely and chronically.

The study was published in PLOS One.

A Visine et al. Chronic and immediate refined carbohydrate consumption and facial attractiveness. PLOS One (2024). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0298984