Women's Health

Do Shopping Trips Help You Live Longer?

Reaction of Experts on Aging

Tom Kirkwood, PhD, the director of the Institute for Ageing and Health and professor of medicine at Newcastle University in the U.K., tells WebMD by email: "While it’s tempting of course to suggest that 'shop till you drop' is a recipe for healthy old age, the real picture is doubtless more complicated than this.

"Those who shop most may be the fittest and most socially engaged. Both these factors are known to be associated with better underlying physical and psychological health. They may also be better off financially, which we know is associated with greater health in old age. As the authors acknowledge themselves, we should be cautious before trying to draw any firm conclusion that retail therapy itself actually causes healthy longevity."

"In short, we do not fully understand what the basis of the shopping-favourable mortality linkage is, but it makes sense,"  Wahlqvist says. "It merits much more interest and research!"