A woman is undergoing a cosmetic surgery.

Cosmetic surgeryis altering not just how people look but how they feel by changing perceptions of middle age, a study showed Monday.

Global research group AC Nielsen surveyed people in 42 countries and found 60 percent of Americans, the world's biggest consumers of cosmetic surgery and anti-aging skincare, believe their sixties are the new middle age.

On a global scale, three out of five consumers believed forties was the new thirties.

"Our forties are being celebrated as the decade where we can be comfortable and confident in both personal and financial terms. The majority of global consumers really believe life starts at forty," AC Nielsen Europe President and CEO Frank Martell said.

But that doesn't mean they want to look their age.

Healthier eating, longer lifespans and higher disposable incomes have helped to hold back the years. However, for many people the biggest boost is coming from the surgeon's scalpel, the survey found.

Confirming Russians' status among the world's biggest consumers of luxury goods, 48 percent of them, the highest percentage globally, said they would consider cosmetic surgery to maintain their looks. One in three Irish consumers, 28 percent of Italians and Portuguese, and one in four U.S., French and British consumers felt the same.

本周一公布的一项调查显示，整容手术不仅改变着人的容貌，而且还通过改变人们对中年的理解使人的心理发生变化。

AC尼尔森国际调查集团共对42个国家进行了调查，结果发现，60%的美国人认为60岁才是中年的开始。美国堪称世界上最大的整容手术和抗衰老护肤品消费国。

从全世界范围来看，五分之三的消费者认为40来岁正值壮年。

AC尼尔森集团欧洲区总裁兼首席执行官弗兰克·玛特尔说：“四十岁被认为是人生的黄金时期，这一阶段我们在性格和经济实力方面都变得成熟自信。所以，大多数全球消费者认为40岁才是美好生活的开始。”

但是人们又不希望自己的外表看上去有40岁。

虽然健康的饮食、寿命的延长和较高的收入对于人们延缓衰老起到了一定的作用。但调查显示，很多人认为整容手术才是永葆青春的最佳途径。

对世界上最大的奢侈品消费国之一俄罗斯的调查显示，48%的俄罗斯消费者表示会考虑通过做整容手术来保持青春，这一比例为全世界最高。此外，三分之一的爱尔兰人，28%的意大利人、葡萄牙人，四分之一的美国人、法国人和英国人也有同样的想法。

Vocabulary:
cosmetic surgery :整容手术