A new study has revealed that regular smoking and weight of an individual are directly linked with sun damage and aging of the skin on a person's face.

According to lead researcher Kathryn J. Martires of Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, and her team, long-term and intense exposure to the sun can cause "physical and structural changes to the skin", which can result in "photodamage", which further leads to rough and wrinkled skin, changes in skin color and "dilated small blood vessels on the face".

For the sake of research, the study authors studied as many as 65 pairs of identical and fraternal twins, who had attended the 2002 Twin Days Festival in Twinsburg, Ohio, and a total of 130 twins, falling between the age groups of 18 to 77 completed the surveys and answered various questions about their "weight, skin type, smoking and drinking habits, and history of skin cancer", and conclusions were then drawn based on the data collected.

"The relationships found between smoking, weight, sunscreen use, skin cancer and photodamage in these twin pairs may help motivate the reduction of risky behaviors. Few epidemiological studies of twins have adequately examined associations between environmental factors and aging", noted the researchers.

Details of the study have been published in the December issue of the Archives of Dermatology.