A Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index survey conducted during the first part of the year found that older people are more confident about their physical appearance compared to those that are middle aged or younger. The survey asked around 80 000 people to rate their confidence levels geared towards the statement “I always feel good about my physical appearance” on a scale from one to five, five being ‘strongly agree’ and one means ‘strongly disagree’. Although many pine for their looks they had when they were younger the results found that 66% of the participants, 65 years and older, strongly agreed and agreed with the statement. This has been compared to the 61% of 18-34 year olds. The middle-aged population however was least likely to have confidence in their physical appearance with 54%.
At almost every age level men are the more confident group when it comes to physical appearance than women. This though is not surprising. Yet the margin narrows towards old age. More than two in three men aged 18-24 (69%) said they felt really good and confident about their physical appearance compared to the 57% of women in the same aged group. But as they reached the retirement-aged group of the population that gap diminished significantly from 64% of men compared to 60% of women.
The concern with physical appearance fuels the big components of countries different economies as it can extend across platforms such as clothing, makeup, hair care, weight control, and cosmetic surgery. Why people are so concerned with their appearance though is not a bad thing as other studies have shown that attractive people tend to fare better than those perceived as less attractive in many business and social situations.
One’s concern about their appearance is clearly rooted in a combination of subjective and objective factors, and thus it differs according to a variety of demographic and cultural variances, including gender, age, and racial and ethnic background. With age also comes a different societal expectation that leads to different appearance standards and a renewed sense of confidence.
