Facial appearance reveals immunity in African men

Abstract Facial appearance is thought to indicate immunity in humans, but very few studies have tested this relationship directly. The aim of this study was to test the relationship between direct measures of immunity, perceived facial health and attractiveness, and facial cues in African men. We sh...

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Autores principales:	Khutso G. Phalane, Catherine Tribe, Helen C. Steel, Moloko C. Cholo, Vinet Coetzee
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2017
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/2a0c0440d3084ad9848114c8c48f6470
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:2a0c0440d3084ad9848114c8c48f64702021-12-02T16:08:00ZFacial appearance reveals immunity in African men10.1038/s41598-017-08015-92045-2322https://doaj.org/article/2a0c0440d3084ad9848114c8c48f64702017-08-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-08015-9https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Facial appearance is thought to indicate immunity in humans, but very few studies have tested this relationship directly. The aim of this study was to test the relationship between direct measures of immunity, perceived facial health and attractiveness, and facial cues in African men. We show that men with a stronger cytokine response are considered significantly more attractive and healthy. Men with more masculine, heavier facial features (i.e. muscular appearance) have a significantly higher cytokine response and appear significantly healthier and more attractive, while men with a yellower, lighter, “carotenoid” skin colour, have a marginally higher immune response and are also considered significantly more healthy and attractive. In contrast, more symmetrical, skinnier looking men appeared more attractive and healthier, but did not have a stronger cytokine response. These findings also shed new light on the “androgen-mediated” traits proposed by the immunocompetence handicap hypothesis (ICHH) and we propose that facial muscularity serves as a better estimate of an “androgen-mediated” trait than facial masculinity. Finally, we build on previous evidence to show that men’s facial features do indeed reveal aspects of immunity, even better than more traditional measures of health, such as body mass index (BMI).Khutso G. PhalaneCatherine TribeHelen C. SteelMoloko C. CholoVinet CoetzeeNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 7, Iss 1, Pp 1-9 (2017)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Khutso G. Phalane Catherine Tribe Helen C. Steel Moloko C. Cholo Vinet Coetzee Facial appearance reveals immunity in African men
description	Abstract Facial appearance is thought to indicate immunity in humans, but very few studies have tested this relationship directly. The aim of this study was to test the relationship between direct measures of immunity, perceived facial health and attractiveness, and facial cues in African men. We show that men with a stronger cytokine response are considered significantly more attractive and healthy. Men with more masculine, heavier facial features (i.e. muscular appearance) have a significantly higher cytokine response and appear significantly healthier and more attractive, while men with a yellower, lighter, “carotenoid” skin colour, have a marginally higher immune response and are also considered significantly more healthy and attractive. In contrast, more symmetrical, skinnier looking men appeared more attractive and healthier, but did not have a stronger cytokine response. These findings also shed new light on the “androgen-mediated” traits proposed by the immunocompetence handicap hypothesis (ICHH) and we propose that facial muscularity serves as a better estimate of an “androgen-mediated” trait than facial masculinity. Finally, we build on previous evidence to show that men’s facial features do indeed reveal aspects of immunity, even better than more traditional measures of health, such as body mass index (BMI).
format	article
author	Khutso G. Phalane Catherine Tribe Helen C. Steel Moloko C. Cholo Vinet Coetzee
author_facet	Khutso G. Phalane Catherine Tribe Helen C. Steel Moloko C. Cholo Vinet Coetzee
author_sort	Khutso G. Phalane
title	Facial appearance reveals immunity in African men
title_short	Facial appearance reveals immunity in African men
title_full	Facial appearance reveals immunity in African men
title_fullStr	Facial appearance reveals immunity in African men
title_full_unstemmed	Facial appearance reveals immunity in African men
title_sort	facial appearance reveals immunity in african men
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2017
url	https://doaj.org/article/2a0c0440d3084ad9848114c8c48f6470
work_keys_str_mv	AT khutsogphalane facialappearancerevealsimmunityinafricanmen AT catherinetribe facialappearancerevealsimmunityinafricanmen AT helencsteel facialappearancerevealsimmunityinafricanmen AT molokoccholo facialappearancerevealsimmunityinafricanmen AT vinetcoetzee facialappearancerevealsimmunityinafricanmen
_version_	1718384643264217088

Facial appearance reveals immunity in African men

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