President Barack Obama in 2012.Carolyn Kaster/AP
- Americans took notice of the expedited presidential aging process known to plague commanders-in-chief.
- Over the last 50 years, signs of aging have grown more noticeable as presidents are constantly photographed.
As President Barack Obama reflected on his time in office, he had a way of acknowledging his waning time in the position: a joke about his graying hair.
"Right now, we are waging war under authorities provided by Congress over 15 years ago — 15 years ago," he said in December 2016.
"I had no gray hair 15 years ago."
Indeed, despite his close-cut hairstyle, it was impossible not to notice the trademark presidential graying, as the president's short black hair became more of a salt-and-pepper color.
In later appearances, like an endorsement video for his former Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday, the former commander-in-chief was noticeably gray.
Though some dermatologists maintain presidents are victims of an expedited presidential aging process, appearing to age faster because of the stress of the office, others say it's more attributable to natural aging than stress.
Other studies, including a comprehensive analysis of elections dating back to the 1700s, have found that heading a nation can take years off a leader's life. That analysis, from the Harvard Medical School, found that elected heads of government, on average, have lives almost three years shorter than those of the candidates they defeat.
Here's how past US presidents have looked near the beginnings and ends of their respective terms: