Does running accelerate facial aging?

“Have you ever seen a long-time runner who didn’t have a sunken, aged face?” asks Dr. Gerald Imber in a video posted on his TikTok account on February 27. In this message, which has been viewed more than 3 million times on the platform, the cosmetic surgeon from New York claims that running accelerates the aging of the face and, in particular, the formation of wrinkles. According to this doctor who describes himself as an “anti-aging expert”, there is no problem with running “a few kilometers, every now and then”. On the other hand, it is long distance races at an intense pace that will affect the appearance of our skin. Would the best anti-wrinkle be to stop running?

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“Dry” the face

In this speech, “not everything is true and not everything is false,” warns Dr. Alexandre Koutsomanis, a plastic surgeon in Paris. “Of course, high-level marathon runners have a very ‘dry’ silhouette, as if they have skin over their muscles, and it shows in their faces as well,” he admits. Reason ? “When you practice this discipline too regularly, you ‘dry out.’ In other words, part of the accumulated body and face fat is consumed. However, when the face is dry, it accelerates the natural phenomena of aging,” he explains. “In effect, these fatty areas of the face serve as a ‘face frame’ as the skin rests on them.” They are located specifically at the level of the cheekbones and Bichat’s balls, these two deposits of fat that fill the cheeks. So if they go away, the skin sags.”

Stretchable skin

In addition to this loss of facial volume, the surgeon mentions another factor that accelerates the aging of the skin. “Every time you take a step, there is a shock between your body and the ground. Repetitive up and down movements of the face due to jumping can contribute to the expansion of the skin tissue. The elastic fibers of the skin break. As a result, your skin loses its elasticity and withers faster,” says the specialist.

On the other hand, Dr. Koutsomanis has some reservations about the premature formation of wrinkles, which his American colleague regrets. “Actually, these movements do not create micro-wrinkles, but emphasize the junctions of the face, such as nasolabial folds, cheekbones, etc. These are emptied and the skin falls over them. Patients consider them to be wrinkles, but in reality it is not so,” he details.

No serious study

Dr. Koutsomanis wants to reassure those who can’t do without a Sunday run. If you do several 15-second sprints, nothing will work either. “Exercise must be very regular and very intense indeed to potentially accelerate skin aging,” says the doctor, “which means you’ll need to run at least three times a week, for a long enough duration or distance that “lots of shock and loss of body fat.” : And to conclude. “In this case, the consequences could be accelerated skin aging after ten years of activity.”

However, if experts have reasonable doubts that this theory can be proven, the expert reminds that there is no “serious scientific study” to date, which is not planned in the future.

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The doctor recommends that intense runners compensate for these effects by including “enough micronutrients and vitamins in their diet, even if this means taking nutritional supplements, so as not to risk deficiencies that may contribute to them.”

Other risks

In her TikTok video, Dr. Imber continues her defense against running, noting that “in addition to making you look old and haggard, your knees, ankles, and back are also getting worse.” On this topic, Dr. Koutsomanis confirms that “there is indeed an aging of the articular cartilage that is clear, distinct and significant. It has been proven time and time again. At 50, the best runners have the joints of an 80-year-old man because their cartilage has worn away.” However, the expert states that the genetic factor prevails and that the deterioration is proportional to the intensity of the practice.