Data from: BMI and WHR are reflected in female facial shape and texture: a geometric morphometric image analysis

Facial markers of body composition are frequently studied in evolutionary
psychology and are important in computational and forensic face
recognition. We assessed the association of body mass index (BMI) and
waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) with facial shape and texture (color pattern) in
a sample of young Middle European women by a combination of geometric
morphometrics and image analysis. Faces of women with high BMI had a wider
and rounder facial outline relative to the size of the eyes and lips, and
relatively lower eyebrows. Furthermore, women with high BMI had a brighter
and more reddish skin color than women with lower BMI. The same facial
features were associated with WHR, even though BMI and WHR were only
moderately correlated. Yet BMI was better predictable than WHR from facial
attributes. After leave-one-out cross-validation, we were able to predict
25% of variation in BMI and 10% of variation in WHR by facial shape.
Facial texture predicted only about 3-10% of variation in BMI and WHR.
This indicates that facial shape primarily reflects total fat proportion,
rather than the distribution of fat within the body. The association of
reddish facial texture in high-BMI women may be mediated by increased
blood pressure and superficial blood flow as well as diet. Our study
elucidates how geometric morphometric image analysis serves to quantify
the effect of biological factors such as BMI and WHR to facial shape and
color, which in turn contributes to social perception.

体成分相关面部特征在进化心理学领域常被研究，同时在计算人脸识别与法医人脸识别中具有重要价值。本研究结合几何形态测量学（geometric morphometrics）与图像分析技术，在年轻中东欧女性样本中，探究了体重指数（body mass index, BMI）、腰臀比（waist-to-hip ratio, WHR）与面部形态及纹理（色彩模式）之间的关联。高BMI女性的面部轮廓相较于眼唇尺寸比例更宽更圆，且眉毛位置相对更低。此外，高BMI女性的肤色较BMI较低者更鲜亮且偏红。尽管BMI与WHR仅呈中度相关，但相同的面部特征同样与WHR存在关联。不过通过面部特征预测BMI的效果优于预测WHR。经留一交叉验证（leave-one-out cross-validation）后，我们可通过面部形态预测BMI变异的25%与WHR变异的10%。而面部纹理仅能预测BMI与WHR约3%至10%的变异量。这表明面部形态主要反映整体脂肪占比，而非体内脂肪的分布情况。高BMI女性面部纹理偏红的关联，可能由血压升高、表皮血流量增加以及饮食因素介导。本研究阐明了几何形态测量学图像分析技术如何量化BMI、WHR等生物学因素对面部形态与色彩的影响，而这类影响反过来会作用于社会知觉。

搜集汇总

背景与挑战

背景概述

该数据集基于一项研究，通过几何形态测量和图像分析，探讨了年轻中欧女性的身体质量指数（BMI）和腰臀比（WHR）与面部形状和纹理的关联。研究发现，高BMI女性的面部轮廓更宽、更圆，皮肤颜色更亮、更红，且面部形状能预测25%的BMI变化，而纹理预测能力较弱。这揭示了面部特征主要反映总体脂肪比例，而非脂肪分布，为进化心理学和计算面部识别提供了依据。