Teenagers have always been healthy and beautiful, even in ancient times. But in those days, youth didn’t last long. By 25, the beauty was gone, and by 35, you were old.

Then along came miracles of modernity, and for many lucky people man’s five years of beauty extended to ten, twenty, thirty. Health and vitality became not just a phase but the normal condition of adulthood.

I’ve just spent a week in heartland USA. I saw that teenagers are sexy, just as they have always been. By age 30, though, most of them have sizeable bellies, and a fair fraction are obese. Years of hamburgers and donuts add up, and by age 40, these people are out of the game. Youth is becoming fleeting again.

[30 May 2014]