Your childhood is literally written all over your face

When it comes to getting a glance of your childhood, people need look no further than your face.

 

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh have learned that one can find out about a person's childhood by looking at the symmetry of the person's face, the UK's The Telegraph reported.

 

"Symmetry in the face is thought to be a marker of what is called developmental stability – the body's ability to withstand environmental stressors (stress factors) and not be knocked off its developmental path. We wondered whether facial symmetry would faintly record either the stressors in early life, which we thought might be especially important, or the total accumulated effects of stressors through the lifecourse," said Professor Ian Deary of the University of Edinburgh's psychology department center of cognitive aging.

 

One of the initial findings was that people with asymmetric faces were more likely to have had deprived childhoods than those with symmetrical faces.

 

"The results indicated that it is deprivation in early life that leaves some impression on the face. The association is not very strong, meaning that other things also affect facial symmetry too," he added.

 

The Telegraph said the researchers found the symmetry of faces indicate early childhood experiences such as nutrition, illness, exposure to pollution and other signs of a hard upbringing.

 

Such features are reflected even if one experiences a rags-to-riches change, the study found.

 

In their study published in the journal of Economics and Human Biology, the scientists suggested facial symmetry could be used with other medical markers like high blood pressure to identify people who might be at an increased risk of disease.

 

But Dearly said there was still much work before it could be used like this. "It is a research-based measure and quite tricky to calculate at present," he said.

 

292 subjects

 

Deary and his colleagues examined the facial features of 292 83-year-old people who took part in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1921. The study followed the participants through their lifetime.

 

The researchers compared the facial symmetry of the participants with details of their social status at childhood, including their "parents' occupation, how crowded their home was and whether they had an indoor or outdoor lavatory."

 

Also, they looked at 15 different facial features, including the positions of the eyes, nose, mouth and ears.

 

What they found was a "strong association between social class and the symmetry of the face in men," The Telegraph said.

 

But the results in women were not as obvious.

 

"A small link from parental status to facial symmetry doesn't mean people are trapped by their circumstances. Far from it – as shown by the high levels of mobility in society, not just people like Gordon Ramsay, but to lesser degrees by millions of people," said Professor Tim Bates, who co-authored the study

 

Attractiveness

 

The Telegraph also said the link between facial symmetry and exposure to stress in early life may help explain why many studies found that people with symmetrical faces are considered attractive.

 

"Lop-sided facial features may unconsciously provide a signal that a person is less desirable as a mate due to the stress they experienced in early life which could leave them vulnerable to disease and premature death," it said. — TJD, GMA News