Why do people in old photos (early to mid last century) appear so much older then they were at the time?

Question

I always wondered, why in many of those pics, men and women look already middle aged, when they were in there early 20s or so. Clearly these few decades can’t be enough to make such radical morphological shifts

In: Biology

Answer 1

Just a general sense of taking care of your body. Such as proper exercise, Skin care ie. sunblock. A huge difference in skin appearance is cigarette smoke. And generally less stressful blue collared jobs like mining and industrial work. – just look at pictures of individuals before and after war to know that jobs play a big role.

Lastly proper dental care. Heathy teeth play a big role on your jaw line and face structure.