Behind every public figure's enduring looks lies a personal approach to health and beauty. This series examines the diets, exercise routines, treatments, and lifestyle habits of people in the spotlight.

Kim Hye-soo (left) and Uhm Jung-hwa. [Newsis]
Kim Hye-soo (left) and Uhm Jung-hwa. [Newsis]

Whenever a female celebrity who has never given birth shows off a youthful face or toned physique, the same comment tends to follow: "Women who don't have children age more slowly." Pregnancy and childbirth do bring significant changes to a woman's body, but whether or not a woman has given birth cannot alone explain the pace of aging or longevity.

Broadcaster Baek Ji-yeon recently discussed research on the links between marriage, childbirth and health on her YouTube channel.

"When photos of Kim Hye-soo looking stunning or Uhm Jung-hwa showing off toned abs go up, people say, 'See, women who don't have kids don't age,'" Baek said. "But whether you've given birth or gotten married isn't really the point. What matters is who you live with and how."

Pregnancy temporarily raises biological age markers, research shows. Hormones, metabolism and the immune system all undergo major shifts during pregnancy, and recent research has found that some biological aging indicators rise temporarily during the process.

A study published in the journal Cell Metabolism in 2024 found that biological age markers — measured using DNA methylation and other methods — increased as pregnancy progressed, then largely reversed after childbirth.

The findings suggest that while pregnancy places considerable physiological strain on the body, the aging signals it produces do not simply accumulate. Subsequent studies have also confirmed that biological aging indicators accelerate during pregnancy before stabilizing or recovering in the postpartum period.

The relationship between childbirth and longevity is equally complex, and long-term studies have produced findings that cut against the popular assumption.

An analysis of 18 cohort studies covering about 2.81 million people found that those who had never given birth faced a 19 percent higher overall mortality risk than those who had given birth at least once. The risk did not keep falling with each additional birth; rather, a moderate number of births was associated with the lowest mortality rates.

Research on marital status has yielded similar results. A study analyzing more than 620,000 people across Asia found that never-married, divorced, separated and widowed individuals — grouped together as unmarried — faced a higher overall mortality risk than married individuals.

These findings do not mean that childbirth or marriage directly extends life. Health status, financial circumstances, access to medical care, lifestyle habits and social relationships all play a role.

Childbirth also affects the risk of certain cancers in women. According to the US National Cancer Institute, women who have carried a pregnancy to full term tend to have a lower risk of ovarian and endometrial cancers than those who have not. Breastfeeding is also recognized as one of the factors associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer.

Researchers attribute this partly to the reduced number of ovulation cycles during pregnancy and breastfeeding, and to the altered patterns of exposure to female hormones during those periods.

The "older-looking" appearance that people discuss online and the biological aging measured in clinical settings are not the same thing.

Skin wrinkles and elasticity are influenced by UV exposure, smoking, age, weight fluctuations and nutritional status. Cumulative UV exposure over many years is considered a primary driver of photoaging — accelerating wrinkles and pigmentation by breaking down collagen and elastic fibers in the skin.

Body shape follows a similar pattern. Muscle mass naturally declines and body fat distribution shifts with age, but exercise habits and diet can produce dramatically different physiques among people of the same age.

The physical changes many women notice after childbirth stem not only from weight gain during pregnancy or changes to the abdominal wall, but also from the sleep deprivation, reduced physical activity and irregular eating that often accompany child-rearing.

Consistent strength training and adequate nutrition, by contrast, help maintain muscle mass and strength well into later life. Skin care, sun protection, weight management, sleep and exercise habits all influence how a person ages visibly.

Pregnancy can in practice raise some biological aging signals, though research shows those changes tend to reverse after childbirth. Long-term mortality studies have also found higher death rates among those who never gave birth.

That is why attributing a celebrity's youthful looks or physique simply to never having had children does not hold up to scrutiny. How a person lives after childbirth — or without it — has a far greater influence on aging than the fact of giving birth itself.


rainbow@heraldcorp.com