Everybody frets about wrinkles and the other ageing signs on their face, but the recent Gallup Polls reveal that older Americans feel much more attractive and confident about their appearance. Gallup surveyed over 85,000 adults. Nearly 66 percent of the older aged people said they were happy and pleased with the way they looked. Most of them were 65 years and above.

Surprisingly the younger lot seemed unhappy with their appearances, only 61 percent of the people between 18 and 34 admitted that they feel confident about the way they look. The remaining experienced lower levels of confidence and self esteem. The poll also revealed that only 54 percent between 34 to 64 had a favorable self image. There was an overall dip in satisfaction upon entering middle age and a peak of satisfaction among senior citizens.

The low levels of confidence and the feeling of inadequacy in middle aged persons has been attributed to the physical changes they undergo at this stage. They notice fine lines, aging spots, crow's feet and for a young person to experience the natural signs of aging can be quite inconvenient.

One more highlight of the survey was the difference in the attitudes towards their appearance between gender and race. Men seemed to be happier than women even in their middle age. But women around the age of 85 felt more contented about their looks. The research also said that white American's were dissatisfied and felt extremely inadequate about their looks, Hispanics and Blacks across all ages on the other hand were most contended about the way they look. However Gallup said, "Older Americans' looks are generally out of sync with the youthful standard of beauty that prevails in American culture and yet they are most happy with what they see in the mirror."