# This guy looks so old for his age. Is it his weight that aged him? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 6, 2013, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-guy-looks-so-old-for-his-age-is-it-his-weight-that-aged-him/649493 "2013-02-06T16:05:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-guy-looks-so-old-for-his-age-is-it-his-weight-that-aged-him/649493/1 "2013-02-06T16:05:30Z")
Look at the Hispanic guy talking to Peirs. How old do you think he is? I thought he was in his forties. World’s oldest intern. 🙂 The article swears he’s 23. :dubious: What happened to this guy? Is it his weight that adds years? The lighting? Short crew cut hair? > **[Intern's memoir recalls Giffords shooting | CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2013/02/05/living/daniel-hernandez-giffords-book/index.html?hpt=hp_c3)** > > Daniel Hernandez Jr. isn’t your typical 23-year-old. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-guy-looks-so-old-for-his-age-is-it-his-weight-that-aged-him/649493/2 "2013-02-06T16:12:32Z")
I dunno, weight usually makes someone look younger, not older (it smooths out the wrinkles). I think this guy just has one of those faces. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-guy-looks-so-old-for-his-age-is-it-his-weight-that-aged-him/649493/3 "2013-02-06T16:20:23Z")
Nah, he looks 23 to me. You did know that Piers is 24, right? Seriously, tho, it is the blubber. He looks, what, mid 30s to mid 40s? He does seem to have a bit of an older face, but, when he loses the fat, he’ll look no older than mid-to-late 20s. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-guy-looks-so-old-for-his-age-is-it-his-weight-that-aged-him/649493/4 "2013-02-06T16:41:15Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > I dunno, weight usually makes someone look younger, not older (it smooths out the wrinkles). I think this guy just has one of those faces. I concur. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-guy-looks-so-old-for-his-age-is-it-his-weight-that-aged-him/649493/5 "2013-02-06T16:47:28Z")
Nah, I think it’s his weight. On weight loss boards, you see a lot of people posting before and after pictures of themselves where the difference in perceived age between the two is so great that it looks like they had originally posted pictures of their parents. If this guy lost 50 pounds, he’d take at least 10 years off his face. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-guy-looks-so-old-for-his-age-is-it-his-weight-that-aged-him/649493/6 "2013-02-06T16:51:45Z")
I agree that weight is the primary factor, but I think the suit adds to it. Not what you usually see 20-somethings wearing. ---
**Author:** ![Foxy40](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@Foxy40](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foxy40)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-guy-looks-so-old-for-his-age-is-it-his-weight-that-aged-him/649493/7 "2013-02-06T16:57:22Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > I dunno, weight usually makes someone look younger, not older (it smooths out the wrinkles). I think this guy just has one of those faces. Very true. My girlfriend recently lost about 40lbs and gained 10 years in her facial features. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-guy-looks-so-old-for-his-age-is-it-his-weight-that-aged-him/649493/8 "2013-02-06T16:59:56Z")
He looks sort of like an older guy who gained weight over time, but altogether he doesn’t look all that old. Genes, body type, all that stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-guy-looks-so-old-for-his-age-is-it-his-weight-that-aged-him/649493/9 "2013-02-06T17:22:36Z")
Yeah, a perfect storm of things that make him look twenty years older than he is. The expression on his face is kind of intense and hard-bitten for a 23 year old. ---
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-guy-looks-so-old-for-his-age-is-it-his-weight-that-aged-him/649493/10 "2013-02-06T17:24:57Z")
The receding hairline doesn’t help. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-guy-looks-so-old-for-his-age-is-it-his-weight-that-aged-him/649493/11 "2013-02-06T17:44:28Z")
> [@Foxy40](#): > > Very true. My girlfriend recently lost about 40lbs and gained 10 years in her facial features. Yes, but in this guy’s case, he’s only 23. 23 year-olds don’t have wrinkles. (Except those caused by fat. Then, of course, gaining weight will not fill in the wrinkles. I don’t think.) ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-guy-looks-so-old-for-his-age-is-it-his-weight-that-aged-him/649493/12 "2013-02-06T17:47:59Z")
I can buy that he’s 23. He doesn’t have that much age in his face, just creases from the fullness of his face. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-guy-looks-so-old-for-his-age-is-it-his-weight-that-aged-him/649493/13 "2013-02-06T17:49:16Z")
> [@C3](#): > > The receding hairline doesn’t help. That’s what I noticed first. And the black suit/white shirt is a style more common with older men. ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2013, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-guy-looks-so-old-for-his-age-is-it-his-weight-that-aged-him/649493/14 "2013-02-07T02:02:26Z")
He does look 40, easily. It’s pretty hard to judge age by the way someone’s face looks though, unless you can get a close look at the skin around the eyes, etc. Mostly, we just look at more obvious things like their weight, personal style, haircut (or how bald they are). Americans tend to gain a great deal of weight with age, so simply by being thin (and wearing the clothing/styles available for thin people), regardless of other age markers, you can often read as ‘youthful’ (at least until closer inspection) until quite an advanced age. ---
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2013, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-guy-looks-so-old-for-his-age-is-it-his-weight-that-aged-him/649493/15 "2013-02-07T02:13:09Z")
Actually, he looks maybe in his 30s mainly due to his weight and conservative dress. Most men are noticeably balding and/or going gray by age 40, and I don’t see anything significant in that regard for this guy. He has a high hairline, but that may be genetics rather than hair loss. ---
**Author:** ![Batsinma\_Belfry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@Batsinma\_Belfry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batsinma_Belfry)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2013, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-guy-looks-so-old-for-his-age-is-it-his-weight-that-aged-him/649493/16 "2013-02-07T02:25:06Z")
It doesn’t help, that his eyes are hooded. When people with hooded eyes, gain a lot of weight, the area above the eye, gets puffy. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2013, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-guy-looks-so-old-for-his-age-is-it-his-weight-that-aged-him/649493/17 "2013-02-07T03:58:50Z")
I had a friend who, for as long as I knew him, looked to be in his early 40s. He was actually only 28 when I met him, and 36 when he died. He started losing his hair at a very young age, was overweight, and wore a moustache for a few years, all of which gave him this ageless quality, in that he looked exactly the same for that entire length of time, and probably would still do so now if he’d lived. He was a stage actor which meant he could play some very interesting older men roles very convincingly.