A study of identical twins and their wrinkles can tell us something about the aging process. Differences between such twins as they get older must be due to environmental causes.
The article linked above says researchers found a “surprising” relationship between weight and aging. I find it utterly unsurprising; anyone who notices such things would find it hard to miss, actually: before the age of forty, excess weight makes women look older. But after that point, it makes them look younger.
Well, duh. I’ve noticed this phenomenon time and again. My mother often remarked on it as she aged; among her friends, the principle seemed to hold true. My mother (aged ninety-five now) also has an oft-stated philosophy about the whole process: “As you get older, you can either be a thin old lady or a fat old lady.”
Previously a lifelong Democrat, born in New York and living in New England, surrounded by liberals on all sides, I've found myself slowly but surely 
February 10th, 2009 at 4:27 pm
Yes! And, you were a lucky kid! (Auchincloss said a writer’s capital is his childhood.)
February 10th, 2009 at 10:15 pm
I think it was Zsa Zsa Gabor who famously remarked that after a woman reaches a certain age, she needs to choose either her face or her ass – both can’t look good!
February 11th, 2009 at 7:19 am
“A man walks down the street
He says why am I soft in the middle now
Why am I soft in the middle ….”
February 11th, 2009 at 10:36 am
“…when the rest of my life is so hard?”
February 11th, 2009 at 11:01 pm
“I need a photo opportunity, I need a shot at redemption”