You’re probably wondering if this is a hoax, but a team of US researchers did a study on whether attractiveness could be linked to the strength of our immune systems. Incredible enough, it may potentially be true.
According to a team of scientists from the Texas Christian University, they believe that people could be attracted to a certain form of beauty because we are simply biologically programmed to look for a healthy partner. The researchers attempted to demonstrate this phenomenon through a study published in the journal ‘Proceedings of the Royal Society B’.
159 male and female participated in the study, this included students at the Texas Christian University or members of the surrounding community. These participants were then photographed without makeup and with neutral facial expressions, and underwent blood tests.
For the second phase, the scientists asked 492 people participating in an online survey to rate their physical attractiveness based on the pictures. The women and men who were considered most attractive, had the highest rates of phagocytosis, which is a process that plays an important role in destroying certain disease-causing bacteria.
According to the researchers, men who were judged to be more attractive, were more likely to have high-functioning natural killer cells that clears viral infections from the body. While women who were deemed more attractive, were associated with slower growth of bacterium in their plasma responsible for food poisoning and localised infections.
However, such a hypothesis would assume that beauty is objective, beyond all cultural and societal considerations, and with no link to a person’s personality. “With modern medicine, infections are not as deadly as they used to be, so perhaps it’s okay if people lower their standards and start to give people who are less attractive a shot,” said the study’s main author.
What do you think? Is attractiveness synonymous with good health?