A study published in the Royal Society B has revealed a surprising conclusion: individuals with higher attractiveness tend to possess stronger immune systems. The research suggests that the features commonly considered attractive, such as symmetrical faces and bright eyes, are actually external manifestations of a body’s strong ability to resist infections.
A research team from Texas Christian University in the United States conducted a rigorous experiment to verify the correlation between attractiveness and immunity. The study recruited 79 women and 80 men. To ensure the accuracy of the results, participants were carefully screened to exclude those with chronic medical conditions, mental illnesses, obesity, or those using steroids and anti – inflammatory drugs. After that, photos of these participants were taken, and blood samples were collected. Subsequently, 492 volunteers were invited to rate the attractiveness of these 159 participants based solely on their photos. These volunteers had no knowledge of the participants’ immune health status.
The experimental results strongly confirmed the researchers’ hypothesis. The participants rated as “physically attractive” showed a higher phagocytosis rate of white blood cells in their blood samples. This indicates that their white blood cells are more effective at fighting pathogenic bacteria such as Escherichia coli. In the medical field, it has long been established that phagocytes play a central role in the body’s innate immunity, effectively eliminating bacteria, fungi, and malignant cells. Therefore, the study’s authors pointed out that “judging by appearance” may play an important guiding role in humans’ selection of partners with stronger immune systems.
Mengerkoch, the lead researcher, mentioned in an interview that in the past, people often regarded the act of approaching attractive individuals in bars as overly shallow. However, the results of this study have challenged this traditional view. People are attracted to good – looking appearances because, essentially, the brain, following its instincts, drives us to seek high – quality partners.
However, the researchers also pointed out that with the continuous progress of modern medicine, choosing a partner with stronger innate immunity is no longer as crucial as it once was. Nowadays, infectious diseases are much less deadly. Even if people lower their standards and choose partners with slightly less attractiveness, they will not face excessive health risks.
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