To think (generationally) wealthy people are better looking?

[LylaLee]

Yes, there are many men who would have married the 'homely' neighbour in order to join land or for alliance reasons.

But very often, a wealthy man 'gets to pick' a beautiful woman. Over several generations, surely this results in a better looking family overall. Whereas we plebs occasionally are randomly good looking, but not in the same way as a family with generation after generation of 'beauty injections' to their gene pool.

Yes but the Royals don't age well....I was shocked to see how good looking Edward was when he was younger, it's like they hit 25 and turn into wizened old men 😬

This!

@Wednesday6 lol at the island comment - ummm Australia?!! An island full of rather attractive people.

That’s true. When they were young, Charles, Edward and Andrew were all pretty good looking. I guess Andrew had the fortune of keeping his hair and didn’t age quite as badly as the other two. Same with William and Harry - William was a heartthrob at 20 and it was credited to Diana’s genes but by 30 he’d lost his hair and much of his looks. Harry has hung onto more of his hair and is better looking than William in his late 30s whereas when they were teens, William was definitely the better looking one.
Either way, if they weren’t royals, neither of them would be considered extraordinarily handsome.

I guess the link between poverty and obesity is only in the US and the UK.

Not only in the US and UK. It’s prevalent in several countries where highly processed cheap foods were introduced.

https://www.worldatlas.com/society/the-most-obese-countries-in-the-world.html

https://data.worldobesity.org/rankings/

Prince Charles and Boris Johnson are beautiful.

Individual people not being conventionally attractive doesn't disprove the OPs general observation

I remember coming from suburbs to live near the watering holes of 20 somethings in SW3/SW7 - I remember being staggered by the contrast. Partic re: model, gorgeous men with charisma in spades. All way taller than average. Gravitational pull of money & privilege?

I’d lived in Birmingham prior & out at watering holes there average guy was 5ft 7 & looked like a potato.

@crunchypeanutbutterontoast nutrition & lack of malnourishment over centuries, taller, gen means better legs.

It’s childhood nutrition . Got to be careful that we don’t go into eugenics again.

The Royal family? Bill Gates? Elon musk? OK so I'll going to the elite part but hardly beauty genes lol

Lol my thoughts exactly

There are plenty of fugly rich people. Even if a rich ugly man manages to bag a beautiful woman it doesn’t mean their kids will be beautiful too. Plenty of attractive people have ugly children and vice versa.

A lot is attitude, knowledge and interest. Diet has a huge impact.

Here is west central Scotland there is a "pieface" or "rodent" look. Wheatbelly does not just apply to the stomach, but face as well. Until the recent issues with access to NHS dentists and free treatment to those on gateway benefits still the appalling state of people teeth and dentition was unjustifiable. I can understand those on a low wage having to pay for treatment and having affordability issues, but when it's free?

Equally if every individual was given £400 a week in vouchers to spend on food, and not able to spend any other money on food would it solve nutritional issues? No.

We thrive on being outside, getting fresh air, walking, playing and exercising even if gently. A few cannot. Most can, many cannot be not be bothered.

I agree William was handsome when younger but he is rapidly losing his looks.

Nutrition doesn’t make that much difference. Eating KFC won’t make you ugly or make your offspring ugly. And eating massive salads won’t turn you or your kids into Blake Lively or Ryan Reynolds.

Population heights go up a little over decades with a consistently higher calorific diet but that’s about it.

@WhatsTheUseOfWorrying it’s generational, over centuries.

On height, the DofE famously said, Spencer genes would breed some height in.

Too much inbreeding maybe for the aristos? If you need to marry a duke or duchess, the pool is smaller.

Rich people can look better, yes of course. Good nutrition and healthy lifestyles.

@KimberleyClark PW may have lost his hair, or most of it, but in the flesh he’s better looking, with a certain presence, than 90 per cent plus of same age peers. Ditto, body.

Yes, but I think you could probably look better by eating better from childhood even without it being generational. I think nutrition probably makes a big difference. Nouveau riche people are also likely to have good skin.

And Italians and Spaniards are below average UK height, all four of which distributions have been true for many decades.

Honestly I know it's very important to some around here to push the "isn't the UK the worst" narrative but this is some reaching...

Sure. Dietary change is a slow burner at the population level. But no diet creates beauty, long term or short term.

No, but inbreeding comes into it with one of those, although his father wasn't bad in his youth.

"But no diet creates beauty, long term or short term."

Well, OK it's not going to change my ugly nose and the basic shape of my face, but the condition of my skin might be improved if I eat avocado and salmon more often and less processed food and sugar.

I'm not sure you're right about actresses.

What we can do of course is compare twins where one has had a harder life than the other and a less healthy lifestyle. You'd expect one to look much better than the other in middle or old age.