Is it possible to tell by someones physical features the effects of inbreeding?

Question

...in humans? For those of you who've seen 'Deliverance' - you'll recall the strange looking boy who plays the bango. Is his face 'typical' of the results of inbreeding? What other effects of inbreeding can be visible in people?

I know it may sound a grotesque question, but does anyone know!?

Answer 1

Weak chins! Have you SEEN the English upper classes?

Answer 2

ah the old billy bob look,well better they inbreed than chase the sheep

look at middle class/upper class familys they are all nearly inbred they wont marry beneath their class so we end up with upper class twits with more money and privillage than brains

cletis in the simpsons is an example

Answer 3

http://www.britfilms.tv/images/news/inbr...

Sorry to scare anyone.

Here is the perfect example these are afrikaners [dutch-boer]They are Dresie and Casie from Western Transvall, South Africa. The picture is from 1993 and taken by photographer Roger Ballen.

Also the stain on the fellows shirt on the right is from drool, which is more apparent in the original photo.

sorry to scare anyone.

Answer 4

This may be a myth,but I heard that big buck teeth are a symptom of inbreeding.

Answer 5

No, as a breeder of cattle, one uses inbreeding to fix characteristics in a breed.  While inbreeding can produce vastly inferior offspring, it can also produce vastly superior offspring.  The problem with inbreeding is that some recessive genes that would never or very seldom show up in ordinary breeding are likely to appear.

Many hearty breeds of cattle & dogs are the result of inbreeding.  However, the inferior products of inbreeding are destroyed, eaten or otherwise never allowed to breed for fear of producing inferior animals... something that can't be done with humans.

Answer 6

Not sure if its the same in humans but in animals the face/skull becomes more symmetrical.eg in cheetahs.

Answer 7

I know a case of a couple that comes from the same small village in Belgium, and one of their son's developed a rare degenerative disease, where he lost his periferal eyesight. This was the result of two recessive genes. If they hadn't been from the same village it would have been highly unlikely to get two of these recessive genes.

Answer 8

If this question was asked about any other race it would be banned as racist. Apparently it's OK if it's directed at whites!

Inbreeding of anything should not be allowed for the sake of the animal (or human). For example, if you own a mixed-breed dog (mutt) it's probably friendlier, healthier & less hyper than any purebred.

Answer 9

Oh yes. A common feature is when both there eyes are on the same side of there face and one of there ears is underneath there chin (For a start)

Answer 10

No it's not, although sometime the genes are so sim the child can be a down syndrome. EG. A boy and his female first couson.

Answer 11

Genetic defects might be a result of inbreeding.  So when you see someone with one, it is only one possible cause, so I'd say no to your question.  In the same way, other disorders with symptoms like tics or retardation might be genetic.

It's a lot easier to pick out inbreeding when you can look at a larger population.

Answer 12

Sure... just look at the Avatars on Answers... have you ever seen more inbred people anywhere?

Answer 13

That is pretty much a stereotype.  

Incest and inbreeding is taboo in most societies, but is often not defined the same way.  For instance a person might never consider marrying their paternal first cousin, but their maternal first cousin would be the most desirable person for them to marry, yet in most Western societies, either match wold be looked upon with equal disapproval.

The reason that societies have rules favoring outbreeding is to avoid the effects of inbreeding, which increase the chances for rare, harmful genetic traits to be expressed.  

A good example is in European royalty and the spread of hemophilia amongst those houses from marrying the children of Queen Victoria.  

Yet on the other hand, some societies mandated brother/sister marriages amongst their royalty, like the Egyptians.  Cleopatra was the result of seven generations of such marriages, and yet was far from being defective.

So the answer really is "somethimes, maybe".

wl

Answer 14

Yes. A common feature of inbreeding is polydactily -- extra fingers and toes. Retardation and body deformations are also seen.

Answer 15

Actually, inbreeding isn't quite the big deal we think it is, at least for a few generations in families without genetic diseases.  The biggest risk for inbreeding is genetic disease.  People in the same family are more likely to be carriers for the same diseases than two random people, so they are slightly more likely to have children with that disease.  There are other problematic recessive genes that are more likely to show up when closely related individuals breed, which is why, for instance, purebred dogs are often less healthy and have shorter lives than mutts.

Your kids aren't fated to be that way if you fall in love with your cousin, of course.  Different societies have different definitions of incest.  We get totally squicked out by first cousins marrying, and even second and third give us pause, even though that really isn't a problem.  In ancient Egypt, pharaohs had to marry their sisters (full or half) in order to take the throne, and their dynasties survived just fine.  The European royal families are famously over-related, but all the stories of deformed kids locked away in dungeons are just stories.

So, no, unless it's a weird case like the blue Fugates, where two families who carried the same recessive genetic disease intermarried and ended up with a lot of offspring with that disease, you can't tell if a kid has parents who are also siblings or cousins or whatever or if the kid just has the bad luck of two parents randomly carrying harmful genes.