Eating refined carbs could reduce perceived facial attractiveness
Research points to chronic consumption as factor in diminishing facial appeal
Immediate and chronic consumption of refined carbohydrates may impact how attractive a man or woman’s face appears to a heterosexual person of the opposite gender, new research from France suggests.
The study, conducted at the University of Montpellier, was published Wednesday in PLOS ONE.
Facial attractiveness is an important factor in social interactions, the study’s authors noted.
They pointed out that the Western diet contains high amounts of refined carbohydrates — processed foods largely stripped of their nutritional value. This includes white flour and table sugar in many packaged snacks.
Previous research has associated increased consumption of refined carbohydrates with adverse health effects, including obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Meanwhile, preliminary evidence has suggested that high levels of refined carbohydrate intake also may affect nonmedical traits, such as a person’s attractiveness.
To delve deeper into the likelihood of this happening, the researchers undertook a study involving 104 French male and female adults.
“The possibility of uncovering a previously unexplored connection between refined carbohydrate consumption — immediate and chronic — and attractiveness was highly appealing,” the study’s senior author, Claire Berticat, a research engineer at the National Center for Scientific Research in Montpellier, told UPI via email.
The study was performed in collaboration with the University of Montpellier, which conducted the research.
Dietary habits assessed
Some participants received a high-glycemic breakfast — one with refined carbohydrates known to boost blood sugar levels — while others ate a low-glycemic breakfast. The individuals also filled out a questionnaire to assess their typical dietary habits involving refined carbohydrates.
Researchers requested that heterosexual volunteers rate the facial attractiveness of opposite-sex participants as they looked in photographs taken two hours after the served breakfast. To limit cultural heterogeneity, they only included participants and volunteers with four grandparents of European origin.
The statistical analysis revealed that ingesting the high-glycemic breakfast was linked to lower subsequent facial attractiveness ratings for both men and women.
Chronic consumption of refined carbohydrates during breakfast, between-meal snacks and afternoon snacks (“goûter” in France) also was associated with lower attractiveness ratings. However, eating high-energy foods at these times was linked to higher attractiveness ratings.
“The significance of our findings lies in highlighting the potential influence of dietary choices not only on health, but also on nonmedical traits having particular social importance, such as facial attractiveness,” Berticat said. “These results underscore the broader societal implications of dietary habits.”
Researchers observed some sex differences. For afternoon snacking in men specifically, high-energy intake was instead associated with lower attractiveness, while high-glycemic intake was linked to higher attractiveness.