Individual differences in pathogen disgust predict men’s, but not women’s, preferences for facial cues of weight

Do adipokines levels influence facial attractiveness of young women?

OBJECTIVES

Facial attractiveness is thought to reflect an individual's biological condition. This seems to be largely explained by the relationship between facial appearance and body adiposity, a trait that affects various aspects of body homeostasis, including fertility and immunity. The aim of this study was to test if, a part of adipose tissue amount, also levels of hormones secreted by adipose tissue are reflected in women's appearance, focusing on the two most abundant adipokines. Due to the opposing effects of adiponectin and leptin on health, we hypothesized that leptin negatively and adiponectin positively correlate with women's attractiveness.

METHODS

The study sample included 174 young, healthy women (M_age = 28.50, SD_age = 2.38). Serum leptin and adiponectin levels were measured. Estradiol (E2), testosterone (T), and BMI levels were controlled in the analyses. Face photographs were taken and facial attractiveness ratings, assessed by men, were gathered in online questionnaires.

RESULTS

Perceived facial attractiveness correlated negatively with leptin level and leptin/adiponectin ratio, but did not correlate with adiponectin level. The results were similar, when controlled for E2, T, and BMI. Adipokines levels did not mediate or moderate the relationship between facial attractiveness and BMI.

CONCLUSIONS

The results showed that perceived facial attractiveness is predicted by adipose-derived hormones detrimental for health, like leptin, but is not related with beneficial hormones, such as adiponectin. However, the levels of these two adipokines do not impact the relationship between perceived facial attractiveness and adiposity, and thus do not explain the relationship between facial attractiveness, body adiposity, and biological condition.

Facial Adiposity, Attractiveness, and Health: A Review

The relationship between facial cues and perceptions of health and attractiveness in others plays an influential role in our social interactions and mating behaviors. Several facial cues have historically been investigated in this regard, with facial adiposity being the newest addition. Evidence is mounting that a robust link exists between facial adiposity and attractiveness, as well as perceived health. Facial adiposity has also been linked to various health outcomes such as cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, blood pressure, immune function, diabetes, arthritis, oxidative stress, hormones, and mental health. Though recent advances in the analysis of facial morphology has led to significant strides in the description and quantification of facial cues, it is becoming increasingly clear that there is a great deal of nuance in the way that humans use and integrate facial cues to form coherent social or health judgments of others. This paper serves as a review of the current literature on the relationship between facial adiposity, attractiveness, and health. A key component in utilizing facial adiposity as a cue to health and attractiveness perceptions is that people need to be able to estimate body mass from facial cues. To estimate the strength of the relationship between perceived facial adiposity and body mass, a meta-analysis was conducted on studies that quantified the relationship between perceived facial adiposity and BMI/percentage body fat. Summary effect size estimates indicate that participants could reliably estimate BMI from facial cues alone (r = 0.71, n = 458).

Infectious Disease and Imperfections of Self-Image

Infectious disease is an ever-present threat in daily life. Recent literature indicates that people manage this threat with a suite of antipathogenic psychological and behavioral defense mechanisms, which motivate the avoidance of people and objects bearing cues to pathogen risk. Here, we demonstrate that self-image is also impacted by these mechanisms. In seven studies, pathogen cues led individuals chronically averse to germs to express greater concern about their own physical appearance. Correspondingly, these people exhibited behavioral intentions and decisions intended to conceal or improve their appearance, such as purchasing facial products, taking pharmaceuticals, and undergoing cosmetic surgery. This work opens a new area of investigation for infectious-disease psychology research and highlights the central role played by physical appearance in pathogen-related cognition.

Do assortative preferences contribute to assortative mating for adiposity?

Assortative mating for adiposity, whereby levels of adiposity in romantic partners tend to be positively correlated, has implications for population health due to the combined effects of partners' levels of adiposity on fertility and/or offspring health. Although assortative preferences for cues of adiposity, whereby leaner people are inherently more attracted to leaner individuals, have been proposed as a factor in assortative mating for adiposity, there have been no direct tests of this issue. Because of this, and because of recent work suggesting that facial cues of adiposity convey information about others' health that may be particularly important for mate preferences, we tested the contribution of assortative preferences for facial cues of adiposity to assortative mating for adiposity (assessed from body mass index, BMI) in a sample of romantic couples. Romantic partners' BMIs were positively correlated and this correlation was not due to the effects of age or relationship duration. However, although men and women with leaner partners showed stronger preferences for cues of low levels of adiposity, controlling for these preferences did not weaken the correlation between partners' BMIs. Indeed, own BMI and preferences were uncorrelated. These results suggest that assortative preferences for facial cues of adiposity contribute little (if at all) to assortative mating for adiposity.