Do good-looking men have stronger immune systems?

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Do good-looking men have stronger immune systems? BEING attractive comes with all kinds of benefits, and now scientists have said good-looks are also linked to having a strong immune system.By: Charlotte Meredith
Published: Wed, May 22, 2013


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Recent research has suggested that facial attractiveness indicates immune responsiveness in men

Recent research has suggested that facial attractiveness indicates immune responsiveness in men - but the same cannot be said for women.

There seems to be a difference between the sexes when it comes to being attractive and also having a strong immune system, according to the study published today.

Scientists vaccinated 52 young Latvian women against hepatitis B and measured the amount of antibodies produced.

The scientists, led by Markus Rantala, of the University of Turku, Finland, then photographed the women, who had an average age of 20, and asked 18 heterosexual male undergraduates to rate their attractiveness.

Good looking men like George Clooney could have higher immunity

In contrast to findings in men, we found that women's immune response is not associated with their facial attractiveness

The researchers then checked for links between attractiveness and immune responsiveness.

Dr Rantal concluded: "In contrast to findings in men, we found that women's immune response (i.e. ability to produce antibodies) is not associated with their facial attractiveness.

"Thus there seems to be a sex difference in association between immune defence and facial attractiveness in humans."

The scientists also checked cortisol levels, which is produced when the body is under stress or anxious.

The hormone performs a number of roles in the body, including suppressing the immune system and aiding metabolism, and researchers found that women who have higher levels of cortisol are rated as having less attractive faces by men than their more relaxed counterparts.

Women with strong immune systems were found not to be more attractive

The scientists, whose research has been published the Royal Society journal Biology Letters, said there have been many studies in humans "that have found that stress has strong negative effect on health, including immune function, heart disease and susceptibility to cancer".

The researchers also found that the women deemed to be more attractive carried an “ideal” amount of fat – neither too much nor too little.

Dr Rantala added: "Our study suggests facial attractiveness in women does not indicate immune responsiveness against hepatitis B but is associated with two other aspects of long term health and fertility, circulating levels of the stress hormone cortisol and percentage body fat."