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Clearly, she's embarrassed to turn around, lest we see her "runner's face."
Runners, beware. A New Jersey cosmetic surgeon has pinpointed something more nefarious than shin splints, stress fractures and even dead butt syndrome: "runner's face."
This is what Dr. Brian S. Glatt, a board-certified plastic surgeon in New Jersey, calls that skinny, Skeletor-esque look some dedicated runners may unwittingly develop, as they're likely distracted with all the miles they have to cover to prepare for their next race. Glatt describes the horrors thusly, in a press release issued today:
Runner’s face generally occurs in both men and women ages 40+ who exercise to improve their body, and in doing so end up with a skeletal and bony face. When exercising, an athlete burns off fat beneath the layers of his/her skin. The marked loss of fatty tissue results in a loss of volume which leads to a prominent appearance of the bones, accelerated development of skin laxity and deepening of wrinkles. Though you may look like a 20-year-old from the neck down—your face will easily give away your age.
Full disclosure: I ran my first marathon in June, and I definitely did get that hollow-cheek look described in the release. (Although I'm 26, not 40-plus.) So Glatt kind of has a point, allows Dr. Tony Youn, a Michigan-based cosmetic surgeon and frequent contributor to msnbc.com.
"The general idea is that the leaner we are, the less fat we have in our face," says Youn. "One of the signs of facial aging is loss of facial volume. So losing weight or becoming very lean (like many runners are) can cause the face to look older."
"Runners face" is a cutesy, catchy term, but Youn points out this idea could apply to anyone who is thin for a variety of reasons -- playing a lot of sports, excessive dieting or anorexia, or genetics. And, Youn helpfully points out, rigorous exercise isn't the only thing contributing to aging -- sun damage does a fine job of that on its own.
Glatt suggests a Botox-Restylane (or other injectable filler) combo, which will smooth wrinkles and plump that gaunt face right back up. Youn says the treatments in Glatt's anti-runners face arsenal would certainly work.
"That being said, I've never told someone to stop running so they could look younger," Youn says. "That's just silly."
What say you, readers? Is the old adage true -- do you really have to choose between your bum and your face? And, if that's true -- which would you choose? A fit, fierce body, or a youthful face?
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Leave a Comment:
Is there no end to vanity?
Nope.
Unfortunately, there's no end to aging until death.
I have "Eater's Face". Anyone spare a napkin?
LOL Sirlafalot, made me have a good laugh. Thank you!
I for one think runners look healthier and more vibrant from the neck up (and down). No double chins, fat cheeks, or undefined jaw lines. I've never seen a runner's face look older because of their lean bodies.
Only a plastic surgeon would suggest that a lean face is unattractive.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33385839
Thanks for the tip! I was wondering how to get my sharp chin and pronounced jawline back after I lost about 25 lbs., since the rest of my body is actually pretty toned and none of my workouts targeted that area. Now I know that running will give me the lean face I crave.
By the way, a sharp, well-defined jawline does not age you. On the contrary, we think of sagging faces and any skin that sags to be a sign of aging, and a lean face and neck (I am not talking about a bony neck like an anorexic's, but a muscular neck) to be a sign of youth. Young people have their skin stretched rather than having it soggy or wrinkled. Thanks for helping me find a solution to my issue, I'll start to add running to my weekly workout, starting this weekend!
Srsly?
Some of you have it wrong. They are not talking about double chins and undefined jaw-lines. They are talking about the fat that resides under the skin around your orbital bone, under the eyes, in your cheeks, etc. When you lose the fat in those areas your eyes appear more sunken-in (in my opinion a huge tell-tale sign of aging). You can have fat in your face (in those areas) and still have a defined jaw-line. As you continue to lose weight, your body will start to draw fat from those areas, and that's when you start running into trouble.
+1 for the Pun
I am ever amazed at the casual insanity of our culture. How is injecting your face with fillers and toxins NOT just as silly?
When it comes to serious training/working out, at least for women, it often does seem to be a case of "Your butt or your face? Which one do you want to have look good?"
Oy vay. How many people do you see who actually improve their looks with any plastic surgery, aside from reconstruction from accident or injury? Most look all tightened, pulled, and asymmetrical, even with just injections....of poison and unnatural "fillers"??? Good grief. It's called nature, people.
Lots of people improve their looks with plastic surgery and fillers. As with hairpieces, you only notice the bad results. The good results look natural.
Great minds think alike:
This is one advantage to being "pleasantly plump." My face looks smoother and less wrinkled and less old than people like he's talking about here. In fact I'm kinda reluctant to lose the twenty pounds I should lose. I'm at an age where my face will start to droop and wrinkle. The fat keeps me plumped up and kind of cute, if I say so myself, without injecting stuff into my face. I'd rather be judged by my face than by my fanny. People see me face on more than fanny on.
Dedicated runners look older because of running in all kinds of weather. They never look younger. Lean, sure, but sometimes they get borderline "stringy" looking and for women its very unfeminine. Im sure if its done in moderation its okay, better than doing nothing.
Yoga is by far the best exercise. I have gone through all the exercise phases, including running, and have settled on yoga and maybe some light free weights just to mix it up a little. It all works. But after 3 years of regular yoga, 3-4 times a week, I know I will never get bored. I have continued to grow yet have so much more yet to learn, so I'm always pushing. My face looks smooth and relaxed and my ass looks round and pert and firm. That said, I have seen some pretty stringy yoga practitioners as well, but many of them also don't eat enough fat. I eat everything. If my jeans feel a little tight, I'll be good for a while and eat carefully. I do not want to lose my hourglass figure and my little layer of fat on my body. Yoga has also eliminated the cellulite I was developing on my left thigh. They say you can't get rid of it, but I swear that I have since starting yoga.
I am not a runner, nor do I diet. You do not have to be a serious runner to get "runner's face". Many of my contemporaries, in the 45-55 age range do exercise and diet. I think they look awful. Their faces are gaunt, wrinkled and sun damaged, their hair is dull and thin. They look unhealthy and old, even though they wear a size 2, and have biceps. When the plastic surgery starts, the lips and the breasts get pumped up, and the face loses expression because of the botox. These poor women look like they are tired, starved, Barbie dolls.
Ladies, you do not have to do all this to look good. Health makes you beautiful. Eat a variety of good food and a little bit of dessert. Walk, do yoga, play a sport, and DO NOT TAN. If your butt is a couple of sizes bigger than when you were a teen so, what? Your friends will like you better if they don't always feel you are trying to be better than they are.
This "runner's face" is an invented affliction.
A contrived condition, a solution for which only the person who "discovered" it has.
Sorry, Ms. Dahl, but you mistook this quack's press release as news, not advertising.
Better luck next time.
Who at MSNBC did this doc treat in order for him to be granted air time for a disorder that he has invented out of whole cloth? Were I to drill deeper, I'm sure the real story would be thoroughly rotten at its core.
Am I the only one who recognizes free advertising when he sees it?
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