Avoiding exercise 'can prematurely age your face'

Sydney, Sept 17 (ANI): UK researchers have warned that avoiding exercise can prematurely age your face.

Researchers at the University of St Andrews created the images of how three people would look in five years, 10 years and 20 years if they did less than 30 minutes of moderate physical activity five times a week.

They also created faces which had benefited from 30 minutes or more of physical exercise five, 10 and 20 years into the future.

The authors took into account the average weight gain in line with age to develop a picture of the effect no exercise had on the face.

"The aim of this study was to highlight that an active lifestyle can benefit appearance, in addition to health," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted researcher Ross Whitehead as saying.

"By looking at the height and weight of the three volunteers, and the consequences of exercising versus not exercising for facial appearance, we were able to build an image of how they would appear in five, 10 and 20 years," Whitehead added.

A team of 10 people used computer software developed by researchers at the university for the project.

Scientists from the university's Perception Lab simulated the effects that not exercising had on an individual's appearance based on a projected weight gain on average of 0.55 kg for women each year and 0.74 kg for men.

Neck and jowls are the most affected with saggy, loose skin while the forehead and eye area is fatter. (ANI)