Skin Color Cues to Human Health: Carotenoids, Aerobic Fitness, and Body Fat

Abstract

Colorful carotenoid ornaments are sexually selected signals of health in many species. In humans too, carotenoids could provide a perceptible cue to health as they impart an attractive yellow-orange color to skin. Increasing carotenoid pigmentation and skin yellowness is associated with increased fruit and vegetable intake, but whether other aspects of human health benefit skin color is unknown. Carotenoids, as antioxidants, help maintain oxidative balance but are expended in this role. Therefore, any health factor affecting oxidative balance could alter the quantity of carotenoids available to color skin. Exercise increases endogenous antioxidant capacity and consequently may decrease expenditure of carotenoids. Fitness could also raise skin carotenoids by lowering body fat (a source of oxidative stress). Here we investigate the relationship between skin color (measured spectrophotometrically), aerobic fitness (measured by estimating the maximum volume of oxygen that a person can use per unit of time, VO 2 max), and body fat. In a cross-sectional design, we find that both higher aerobic fitness and lower body fat are predictors of skin yellowness, independent of each other and dietary fruit and vegetable intake. In a longitudinal design over 8 weeks, we found that increase in fitness and decrease in body fat were independently associated with an increase in skin yellowness. Change in self-reported stress and sleep were further predictors of skin yellowness indicating a more general relation between health and skin tone. Simulations of the skin color associated with higher fitness were found to appear healthier. Hence, our results suggest that increasing cardiovascular fitness and decreasing fat levels produce a healthier skin color. Such findings have repercussions for public health because improved attractiveness can provide an incentive for a healthier lifestyle, including exercise and weight regulation.

The Expressive Triad: Structure, Color, and Texture Similarity of Emotion Expressions Predict Impressions of Neutral Faces

“…These results were largely driven by male transforms being rated as more dominant, and female faces being rated as happier and less babyish. These results largely follow from the observation that quadrant I faces typically appear more "smiley" and appear to have healthy skin color (carotenoids; see, e.g., Perrett et al, 2020). These effects are further corroborated by the results from the happy transforms (see Supplementary Material 6).…”

“…The present results confirm that in addition to facial structure, color and texture related to emotion expressions are also important cues individuals use to make decisions. Research that has examined these cues in isolation demonstrated that they impact perceptions related to attractiveness and health (Pazda et al, 2016 ; Thorstenson et al, 2017 ; Perrett et al, 2020 ) as well as gender (Russell, 2003 , 2009 ). It is certainly possible face color and texture influence impressions related to gender or health in a largely associative manner, much like how face structure has been shown to influence impressions via emotion overgeneralization (see, Heerey and Velani, 2010 ; Kocsor et al, 2019 ).…”

“…These results are underscored by the observation that women often use cosmetics to increase the contrast of the eyes and lips with the rest of their face and that observers rate women with high facial contrast dimorphism as appearing more attractive (Rhodes, 2006 ). Face color also appears to have a defining influence on perceptions of religiosity (Rule et al, 2010 ) as well as judgments of health and attractiveness (Pazda et al, 2016 ; Thorstenson et al, 2017 ; Perrett et al, 2020 ). In both cases, perceptions of “healthier” skin drove impressions and classifications.…”

Misperceptions of opposite‐sex preferences for thinness and muscularity

“…In data sets used in two previous studies, we find that for men (N = 101, 79 respectively) the effect size relating impedance measured Fat% to muscle mass was 0.75-0.85, controlling for body weight(Lei et al, 2018;Perrett, Talamas, Cairns, & Henderson, 2020).…”

Reactions to an Online Demonstration of the Effect of Increased Fruit and Vegetable Consumption on Appearance: Survey Study

“…The demonstration was made early in the survey, which may have led to participants increasing their reported fruit and vegetable consumption. The dietary effect on skin color is not unique since other aspects of lifestyle (eg, fitness and reduced body fat) have similar impacts on skin color appearance [ 39 ].…”