Tech Mahindra_Issue_I_52 pages_3

6 wellness
news
Price Awareness Is
No Fun
Our enjoyment of an experience or product decreases
more quickly when we are aware of the price, researchers
at Vanderbilt University, USA, have discovered. Their
findings are available online in the ‘Journal of Consumer
Psychology’. The investigators conducted a series of seven
experiments in which consumers used a product over
a period of time, and they found that enjoyment of the
experience declined faster for people who were aware of
the product’s price. “Being reminded of the price makes
the experience less relaxing,” says Kelly Haws, PhD, lead
author. The negative effect of pricing only emerged over
time, not at the beginning, the researchers noticed.
- Arthur Ashe
Start where you are, use what
you have, and do what you can.
Wearable Health
Devices Can Pose
Privacy Risks
According to a report by researchers at American
University and the Center for Digital Democracy,
personal health wearable devices for monitoring
heart rates, sleep patterns, calories - like watches,
fitness bands, and ‘smart’ clothing linked to apps
and mobile devices - raise new privacy and security
risks. “Many of these devices, promising to provide
people with more efficient
ways to manage their own
health, are already being
integrated into a growing
Big Data digital health and
marketing ecosystem, which
is focused on gathering
and monetising personal
and health data in order
to influence consumer
behaviour,” the report
explains. As the use of
these devices becomes
more widespread and more
sophisticated, the extent and
nature of data collection
will be unprecedented.
This can threaten the
privacy of consumer health
information.
Fit Friends
If you’re struggling to embrace a new
fitness routine, perhaps it’s time to
make some new friends. Researchers
have found that being friends with
people who enjoy exercise is more
likely to make you enjoy physical
activity too.
Following a study of over one
million people, researchers from the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
concluded that going to the gym is
contagious – especially for women,
who are more likely to be motivated
by one another than men. During the
study, the scientists found that people
were likely to increase their own
activity if they saw a friend boosting
their activity levels.
Do Shorter Men
Go Bald More
Often?
An international genetic study claims
that short men may have an increased
risk of becoming bald prematurely.
Researchers at the University of Bonn,
Germany, investigated the genetic
material of more than 20,000 men. Their
data shows that premature hair loss is
linked to a range of various physical
characteristics and illnesses. The work has
now been published in the journal ‘Nature
Communications’. It has already long been
known that men with premature hair loss
suffer from heart diseases and prostate
cancer somewhat more often. The new
genetic data now confirm suspicions that
there are further connections
to other characteristics and
illnesses. “However, men with
premature hair loss do not need
to be concerned,” reassured
Prof Markus Nöthen. “The
risks of illness are only
increased slightly.”
yourwellness.com