Why do people's faces fill out as they age?

I was just looking at the once beautiful Aidan Quinn. His face has filled out masking his once good looks. One would think the opposite would occur. I guess that's a good thing for people with overly angular or bony faces, but still it's not attractive.

• Because most people gain weight as they age. Those who do not gain weight as they age do just the opposite but they are not in the majority. Nothing, but nothing ages someone like gaining weight as they grow older, even if gradual like 25 pounds over 30 years.

  charlie

• oh

• Also, with some celebrities, it's another thing. Many people who get liposuction end up gaining that weight back, but the new fat gets evenly distributed to the remaining fat cells in the body...so the face gets bigger.

• When you age, your muscles start to deteriorate and fat takes its place. This includes your face and neck muscles, hence the thickening of your facial features and drooping of your neck and jowls. Strength training and a change in diet will help you build muscle mass and maintain your svelte physique but there's only so much you can do for your face and neck apart from the occasional nips and tucks.

• Faces don't normally fill out. Normally it is the opposite. Of course, if one gains weight in one's face it can make it look that way.

• R3, I've always suspected this was the deal with Mariah Carey. Her head/face got huuuuge, even when her stomach was flat.

• The opposite has happened to me. My face used to be chubbier but as I got into my 40's, the chubbiness went away. I kinda miss it.

• Leo DiCaprio is another one whose face really filled out.

  Lesbian

• Aidan Quinn has a stressful life with an autistic kid.

• One of the big face-bloaters is alcohol, another is long-term coke use. If he's not fat overall, it's probably one of those. A third possibility is that he's on some sort of steroids for an autoimmune disease, like Katherine Turner was. That will bloat you to hell.

• I don't know what you're talking about

  Chaz

• He still looks hot to me. I don't see that his face is bloated. It's just a bit fuller than it was when he was young. That's perfectly natural and keeps the face more wrinkle free.

• I thought Mariah Carey's bloated face was due to her drinking.

• Oh God, for real? Jesus, I've had a fat face my whole life, even when I was underweight (yes, there was a time). I've always had these natural pocket-gopher cheeks. I thought faces hollowed out as people age, which I was so looking forward to. Thanks a lot, OP!

  *stomp%2C%20stomp%2C%20stomp*

• Alcohol

• No, r14. Your face will hollow out as you age unless you're an alcoholic, bulimic or are taking steroids. I always had fat cheeks when I was younger but they hollowed out as I aged. Which is a double-edged sword.

• Prednisone

• Or gain weight, R16. As has been mentioned, this happens to many.

• I think you'd have to gain a lot of weight, r18. I've been 10 -15 lbs overweight my entire life and my cheeks still hollowed out as I aged. I guess it depends on genetics, too.

• I notice charlie never misses a chance to play body Nazi. Yes, we know, you're a "nutritionist". A few extra pounds (a FEW) as you age isn't a bad thing. That old adage about "choose your face or your ass" as you age is true. Gaunt is never a good look. See that aged fairground stripper, Madonna.

• Quitting cigarettes if you're a longtime smoker is good for 30 pounds like that (finger snap.)

• There's something about the fat pads of the cheek (the chubby cheeks of a baby) As you grow older (puberty, adulthood) this stays in place and is affected by weight loss and weight gain. As you grow older, in many cases, these fat pads begin to slip down, hence the soft look to many older faces. The only solution is to "lift" them, and stitch them into place. Of course, there are other reasons too...

  Sorry, I'm not a medical doctor...

• Rosie said about her fuller face that it was the Irish curse. Like Ted Kennedy

• Reduced elasticity.

• It just happens. Between 17 and 26 my face was very narrow, but now at 30 I'm all filled out and quite handsome.

• I'm still gaunt and gorgeous at 33. Very distinguished.

• 32 year old lesbian here. I've always had a fat face, and losing weight doesn't help. I lost 50 lbs a couple of years ago, and while my body became noticeably slimmer and leaner, my face stayed the same. Oh well.

• R23, that is NOT the Irish curse with which Teddy was afflicted. Indeed, his face was bloated, but that's attributable to alcohol (which might also be considered an Irish curse). He and his brothers were reportedly over-compensating for wee weewees, which is usually what is meant by "the Irish curse." We do not need to argue about the accuracy of this stereotype. That the stereotype exists is a fact. The description of the Kennedy pudenda comes from Truman Capote, who wasn't ALWAYS lying.

• I think he looks hot.

  http://www.screenspy.com/tv/aidan-quinn-joins-the-cast-of-cbs-elementary/

• R10, and the fourth reason is liposuction.

• Absolutely gorgeous at R29.

• I met Aidan at a friends house in the late 80's after he had some success. My friend taught drama at the Illinois College Aidan attended and had been a long time friend of his family.

• I noticed when I was a kid that this happens to male cats as they age. The face and neck seem to broaden, and I always said they have gotten their "tom cat face". So, then as I got older and saw the same thing happens to male humans, I call it the same thing. A pretty, slim-faced boy grows up, and all too often gets his "tom cat face", too.

• One reason is the loss of collagen. It helps keep things tight. We have collagen throughout our bodies. I went to a plastic surgeon to see about liposuction of my abdomen. He said I didn't have the kind of fat that liposuction could take care of and that a lot of my problem was that my internal organs were no longer being kept tautly behind my muscles with collagen. So some of what I thought was fat was actually my abdominal organs pushing outward. Middle age spread is due to lack of collagen. Women can do all tje crunches in the world but once they hit menopause, they will never have that board thin abdomen again. They'll always have that pouch. He recommended a tummy tuck. I know what a tummy tuck involves, unlike most people, and I declined.

• "So some of what I thought was fat was actually my abdominal organs pushing outward." Honey, I wouldn't tell that!

• When people keep their weight steady through the years, their face actually loses fat which is why you see all these HW actresses looking like crap at their low weights. In order for a face to look younger while aging, one has to gain some weight which many aren't willing to do. Most people though gain weight regardless, whether it's because it becomes harder to lose weight or because they stop giving a shit and don't workout/diet.