Over-50s increasingly going under the knife

London: Turning 50 no longer means giving up on maintaining a perfectly preened appearance, for now people who have crossed the half century mark are more determined than ever to keep looking youthful.The over-50s are increasingly turning to cosmetics and even surgery to remain ``toned, tanned and tinted``, a survey shows.

Men and women over 50 are ten times more likely to use fake tanning lotion or sunbeds than their parents were, and fourteen times more likely to use anti-wrinkle cream, reports the Daily Mail. And with the desire to keep old age at bay, cosmetic surgery has almost doubled in a generation. Some 15 per cent of women over 50 admitted to still wearing padded bras. This is five times as many as their mothers at the same age. In fact, the trend has even changed social expectations, with 62 per cent of women surveyed believing they are more likely to be judged on their appearance than previous generations. Emma Soames, editor of Saga magazine, which carried out the survey of 10,000 people, said it showed that today``s over-50s are ``a generation that has successfully re-defined attitudes to age`` in the face of the present day ``politics of beauty``. She also said that images of naturally shapely and age-defying actresses such as Dame Helen Mirren, 65, who was photographed in a bikini while on holiday in Italy in 2008, create added pressure for older women. “The over-50s are clearly taking matters into their own hands and using every method possible to remain as young looking as possible,” she added. The survey showed that spending on cosmetics by the over-50s has risen from 1.9billion pounds a year to 2.1billion pounds in ten years. ANI