Thinking you’re fit helps you live longer

BELIEVING you are less healthy than others can help shorten your life, research suggests.

For those who felt they got more exercise than their peers were up to 71 per cent less likely to die during a 21-year study than those who said they were not active enough.

The findings suggest people who enjoy exercise and feel positive about doing it live longer than those who resent it and feel inadequate, says Alia Crum, assistant psychology professor at Stanford University in Cali- fornia. Her team analysed surveys from more than 60,000 US adults and published their results in the journal Health Psychology.

‘Our findings fall in line with a growing body of research suggesting that our mindsets – in this case, beliefs about how much exercise we are getting relative to others – can play a crucial role in our health,’ Professor Crum said. ‘In the pursuit of health and longevity, it is important to adopt not only healthy behaviours, but also healthy thoughts.’