Trimming Fat

During the toughest economic stretch in 70 years, we get more than our daily dose of bad news from Wall Street.  I’m here to offer some cheer.  People live longer in tough economic times.  Seems counterintuitive, but it plays out statistically.  A recent Fortune article by Geoff Colvin, Fewer Deaths During a Recession, captures this relationship.  In the article, Colvin cites research by Christopher J. Ruhm, an economist at the University of North Carolina, who demonstrates that a 1% rise in the unemployment rate reduces the death rate by 0.5%.  Detroit by all measures must be the healthiest city in America.  This correlation is not only true for the United States but plays out in Spain, Germany, and all 23 OECD countries in aggregate.

Not only do death rates decline, but general medical problems become less prevalent during tough economic times.  Smokers cut back on their smokes and couch potatoes go mobile.  One might assume that the reasons are rooted in economics alone, but they aren’t.  According to Colvin,  “Strapped consumers apparently aren’t getting fitter because they must bike to work and survive on oatmeal and turnips.”  The real  reason seems to be extra free time.  Not having a job leads to more time for exercise.  Exercising non-smokers trim fat, and exercising smokers smoke less.

So, during this time when all of us feel pinched, let’s celebrate the collective pounds we’re shedding as a nation.  Put down those cigarettes, enjoy your leisure, and offer a grateful ”shout out” to lethargic consumer confidence, flat GDP, and anemic in-store sales.