Parent Category: Advanced News Lessons

Category: Health Lessons

Written by Chris Cotter

It's not been much of a secret that specific social behaviors affect aging. For example, if you smoke, the chances of dry, rough skin increase. There are the telltale, vertical wrinkles around the lips too. Or if you worship the sun, then your skin will eventually turn leathery, as well as develop much deeper wrinkles around the eyes. Stress can lead to dark circles beneath the eyes too. And that's all just your physical appearance. However, scientists could only surmise how great the effects might be, at least until now.

Scientists have turned to identical twins, examining in minutia their lifestyles to determine and better measure which social behaviors affect our physical and mental body clocks. Identical twins start as carbon copies of one another, yet striking differences accumulate through the years. Photos show just how glaring divergent lifestyle choices affect the outward appearance of the body. There are internal differences too. The study is currently examining 186 pairs of twins.

It should be noted that positive lifestyle choices are also being recorded. Diet restrictions that also load up on fruits and vegetables are compared to a less healthy diet, for example. The same holds true for the amount of exercise the twins get, the amount of stress in their lives, and overall optimism or pessimism in their daily affairs. Each adds or subtracts years from a person's life, as well as their overall healthfulness.

The ultimate goal, of course, is to unlock the fountain of youth, and thereby allow humankind to someday double or triple their lifespan. In all likelihood, the near-future breakthroughs will add a decade or two. Twins may hold an important piece to an immense and exceedingly difficult puzzle.