As of: March 20, 2024, 10:13 p.m
By: Michelle Brey
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Does breakfast have an effect on attractiveness?
(Symbolic image) © Kara Chin/The Picture Pantry/Imago/Westend61/Imago
Attractive because of the first meal of the day?
Researchers addressed this question.
And explained what role carbohydrates play in this.
Frankfurt – Leaving the house in the morning without breakfast?
For many people this is not even an option.
Others, however, consciously avoid consuming calories or even eating eggs in the morning hours.
Researchers from France have now examined the effects of the first meal of the day on people's attractiveness.
Research on the impact of breakfast: This is how the study was conducted
The breakfast study by evolutionary researcher Dr.
Claire Berticat was published in PLOS ONE, an online journal of the Public Library of Science, in March 2024.
The study included 104 participants between the ages of 20 and 30.
These were randomly divided into two groups.
The study cannot be considered representative due to the small number of test subjects.
The study design looked like this:
Both groups received a breakfast with a total of 500 calories.
One group's breakfast consisted of refined carbohydrates and the other group's breakfast consisted of unrefined carbohydrates.
Breakfast 1 (refined): Baguette, jam, apple or orange juice and tea or coffee with sugar.
Breakfast 2 (unrefined): Whole grain bread, butter and cheese, an apple or an orange and tea or coffee without sugar.
Blood sugar level measurements: Once in a fasting state, once 30 minutes before and once 90 minutes after breakfast.
Photographs of the test subjects almost two hours after breakfast.
To make the results comparable, the subjects were asked to look neutrally into the camera without smiling, had their hair tied back, and had earrings, glasses, piercings, and makeup removed.
The researchers also paid attention to exactly the same lighting conditions.
In a study, researchers made surprising findings about the effects of breakfast on attractiveness (symbolic image).
© Kara Chin/The Picture Pantry/Imago
An evaluation group finally made assessments of age, gender and attractiveness based on the photos.
Refined and unrefined carbohydrates – And their effect on blood sugar levels
Refined carbohydrates are also known as unhealthy carbohydrates.
They enter the blood more quickly, causing the blood sugar level to rise more quickly - but also to fall quickly again.
This is where the so-called glycemic index (GI) is important.
It represents “a measure of how a carbohydrate food affects blood sugar levels.”
According to consumer advice centers: “The lower the glycemic index, the less and more slowly the blood sugar level rises.” Refined carbohydrates are created, for example, in the production of white flour.
A large part of the nutrients are lost.
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Breakfast can “subtly change facial features” – Study results
Scientist Berticat, writing in the British newspaper The Guardian,
called it
“surprising that our eating habits can have a rapid impact on our appearance.”
The result actually showed that the test subjects who ate the healthier meal (i.e. the one with unrefined carbohydrates) were perceived as more attractive by the evaluating group.
Women and men who ate a high-glycemic breakfast were rated as less attractive than those who ate a low-glycemic breakfast.
The study authors in their paper
According to the researchers, the results are caused by processes in the body that are triggered by refined carbohydrates.
Breakfast caused hypoglycemia (= low blood sugar, drop in blood sugar level) in the respective test subjects.
“It is known that hypoglycemia has visible symptoms because it affects blood circulation and the skin.” This in turn can be seen in the photographs and can therefore influence the perception of attractiveness, the scientists wrote in the study.
“Far-reaching effects” on attractiveness
“Our results are a compelling reminder of the far-reaching impact of dietary choices not only on health, but also on traits with particular social significance such as facial attractiveness,” Berticat told
The Guardian
.
Researchers recently also examined the effects of proteins on the human body.
They identified a health risk.
An expert classified the study.
(mbr)
The editor wrote this article and then used an AI language model for optimization at his own discretion. All information has been carefully checked. Find out more about our AI principles here.