A new poll has revealed that wearing glasses ages people by at least three years. On average, glasses-wearers were put at 3.3 years older than they actually were in the survey of 4,000 people commissioned by the London Vision Clinic。

　　Those who wear glasses were perceived to be older by respondents, who said they regarded them as more "geeky" and "good with computers" than people who do not wear them. And the perceived image was even worse for those aged 45 and over, who were thought to be five years older。

　　The research was conducted by dividing the participants into two groups. The first group was given ten pictures of people with glasses and asked to guess their ages and discuss their personal attributes. The second group was given ten pictures of the same people without glasses and asked the same questions。

　　The results showed a difference in perceived ages but also found that those who wore glasses were a fifth less likely to be seen as confident and were more likely to be thought of as physically weaker。

　　Psychologist Dr Glenn Wilson, who analyzed the results, said: "This study is interesting as it highlights the snap judgments we make as a society about people when we meet them for the first time."