Abstract:
The relationship between facial cues and perceptions of health and attractiveness in
others plays an influential role in our social interactions and mating behaviors. Several
facial cues have historically been investigated in this regard, with facial adiposity being the
newest addition. Evidence is mounting that a robust link exists between facial adiposity
and attractiveness, as well as perceived health. Facial adiposity has also been linked
to various health outcomes such as cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, blood
pressure, immune function, diabetes, arthritis, oxidative stress, hormones, and mental
health. Though recent advances in the analysis of facial morphology has led to significant
strides in the description and quantification of facial cues, it is becoming increasingly clear
that there is a great deal of nuance in the way that humans use and integrate facial cues
to form coherent social or health judgments of others. This paper serves as a review
of the current literature on the relationship between facial adiposity, attractiveness, and
health. A key component in utilizing facial adiposity as a cue to health and attractiveness
perceptions is that people need to be able to estimate body mass from facial cues.
To estimate the strength of the relationship between perceived facial adiposity and body
mass, ameta-analysis was conducted on studies that quantified the relationship between
perceived facial adiposity and BMI/percentage body fat. Summary effect size estimates
indicate that participants could reliably estimate BMI from facial cues alone (r = 0.71,
n = 458).
