WEIGHT LOSS ACCELERATES SKIN AGEING

STRESSFUL life events such as bereavement, divorce or job loss can speed up skin ageing, says Dr Justine Hextall, a consultant dermatologist at the Tarrant Street Clinic in Arundel, West Sussex.

A 2010 study, which followed 118 women aged 40 to 45 over nine years, challenged the assumption that skin ageing is gradual by revealing that it can take place in rapid spurts.

Researcher Rajiv Grover, a consultant plastic surgeon at the London Clinic, found up to 35 per cent of skin ageing that would usually take a decade could, in some circumstances, occur in a year alone. Lifestyle events were more significant in determining the timing of an ageing spurt, rather than age itself. Substantial weight loss was a major contributor to big ageing spurts. Interestingly, the most significant area for such a spurt was the cheeks. Mr Grover said: ‘Put simply, the way to age gracefully is to give up yo-yo dieting and not to lose weight in a rapid fashion.’