Wearing glasses ages people by at least three years, a poll said yesterday.

Those who wear glasses are perceived to be older and tend to be regarded as “geeky” compared with people who do not wear glasses.

On average, wearers of glasses were put at 3.3 years older than they actually were in the study, while those aged 45 and over were thought to be five years older.

The research was based on a survey of 4,000 people, who were split into two groups.

The first group was given 10 pictures of people with glasses and asked to guess their ages and discuss their personal attributes.

The second group was given 10 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. They were also more likely to be described as “geeky”, with some people saying they looked like they were “good with computers”.

Psychologist Glenn Wilson, who analysed 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.

“In addition to glasses making people look older, it seems we still make the unconscious assertion that people who wear glasses are weaker and less confident.”