September 6, 2000. Copyright 2000. Graphic News. All rights reserved.

ONE EYE IN THE MIRROR

LONDON, September 6, Graphic News: MIRROR, mirror, on the wall, whoÕs the vainest of them all? Venezuelans, it seems, followed by Mexicans, Russians and Turks.

Venezuelan men and women top a 30-country list of those who say they constantly think about their appearance, according to marketing research firm Roper Starch Worldwide.

The study found that in the South American country where beauty pageants for women are a national obsession and plastic surgery is common for both sexes, 65 percent of women and 47 percent of men say they think about what they look like Ð all the time.

Venezuelans, who also top the world in deodorent-use, spend an average of 20 percent of household income on personal-care products.

Glamour-conscious Americans lag well behind in the global vanity parade, the study reveals. Just 27% of women and 17% of men in the U.S. think about their appearance all the time.

Worldwide, there is considerably less mirror-gazing than in Venezuela or in the land of the queen in GrimmÕs fairy tale which was borrowed by Disney for the theme of ÒSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs.Ó She would stand in front of her mirror every morning and ask: ÒMirror, Mirror, on the wall, Who is fairest of us all?Ó

Globally, only 23 percent of women and 16 percent of men think constantly about their appearance, according to the survey. It was based on personal interviews with 1,000 people, aged 13 to 65, in each of the 30 countries surveyed. 

At the modesty end of the scale, the researchers found that the countries where people think least about their appearance were India (33 percent never think about how they look), Malaysia (25 percent), Spain (22 percent), Taiwan (20 percent), and Czech Republic and Hong Kong (19 percent).

Researchers found that people say the things most helpful in achieving their best appearance include a good nightÕs sleep, regular dental-care, drinking enough water, minimising stress, exercising regularly and watching what and how much they eat.
/ENDS
Sources Roper Starch, The Economist, Reuters