Seniors who shop frequently live longer- in Taiwan
Elderly people who shop as frequently as every day are more likely to live longer than less frequent shoppers, with men appearing to benefit more from the activity than women. This is according to a Taiwanese study of 1,850 elderly people aged 65 living independently at home, and published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
Participants answered questions about how often they went shopping, with responses ranging from “never” to “every day”. This was checked with their cognitive and physical function, and demographic information.
The researchers concluded that their findings showed shopping predicts survival and that very frequent shopping may favour men more than women.
They conceded that perhaps the ability to shop is just reflective of a person’s health, and frequent shoppers are just healthier people, but they also said it could work the other way around: frequent shopping itself may benefit health, for instance by increasing the opportunity to buy food, take an interest in your diet and health, meet companions, and also take exercise in a way that is easier and requires less motivation than formal methods.
“Shopping captures several dimensions of personal wellbeing, health and security as well as contributing to the community’s cohesiveness and economy and may represent or actually confer increased longevity,” they noted.
