Pessimism linked to Scots' health....

azzuri · Pessimism linked to Scots' health....

see - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4900696.stm

Pessimism linked to Scots' health

Scotland's "lack of confidence" not only affects its sporting success but also has a dire affect on the nation's health, according to an expert.

Carol Craig, of the Glasgow-based Centre for Confidence and Well-Being, said feelings of pessimism could reduce life expectancy by up to eight years.

Last month Scotland's Commonwealth team returned triumphant despite low key predictions before the games.

Ms Craig said such low expectations showed that Scotland had a problem.

She said: "There is a huge growing body of evidence that whether you're optimistic or pessimistic has a major bearing on your health."

"Some studies are showing - there's about 10 to 15 of them I think - it's very important for health and for life expectancy.

"And it might be as much as seven or eight years of life expectancy - that's more important than whether you smoke or not."

Scotland's recent swimming success caused some people to question whether the team had received special confidence-boosting coaching prior to the Commonwealth Games.

The Scottish rugby squad have also dramatically improved their fortunes.

Under their new coach Frank Haddon they beat England and France in the Six Nations.

One of the squad, Alistair Hogg, said Haddon had helped them develop a positive mental attitude.

"He's just been showing us clips of the things we do well and that's basically it," he said.

Unanswered questions

"He's been going out and telling us that we're good rugby players, we've got the skills, we've got the fitness, we've got the natural ability, and just go out there and prove it to ourselves and the public.

"You've got to go into the game thinking you can win - that you're in with a chance."

Ms Craig said the issue went further than determining sporting success and that it raised questions over Scotland's poor health record.

The Centre for Confidence has Scottish Executive funding to help tackle Scotland's perceived "cannae do" attitude.

"We have some of the worst life expectancy in the western world and we have to ask why," said Ms Craig.

Blackleaf

English males have the second highest life expectancy in Europe.

But both Scottish men AND women have the LOWEST life expectancy in Europe.

Within the UK, Wales has the highest proportion of disabled people. 17% of 15 year olds in Northern Ireland had teeth missing due to decay, whereas in England the figure is only 5%.

Why Englishmen are becoming the old men of Europe
By Sarah Womack, Social Affairs Correspondent
(Filed: 10/02/2006)

Englishmen are often depicted as "armchair" sportsmen who like their beer and their fast food, but they are living longer than their counterparts in almost every other European country.

In a major report based on official statistics, the life expectancy for English men is 76.6 years, the second highest in the European Union which had an average male life expectancy of 74.8.

English women live longer than men, with a life expectancy of 80.9 years, but fare less well in comparison with the EU, where women live to 81.1 years on average.

However, Britain is the second "fattest" nation in the EU, with more than a fifth of adults deemed obese, a figure second only to Greece. The report, by the Office for National Statistics, exposes dozens of fascinating - and worrying - facts.

Scotland has the LOWEST life expectancy for men (73.8 years) and women (79.1 years), and the greatest proportion of heavy smokers, a fact reflected in it also having the highest rate of lung cancer.

Wales has the lowest death rate among infants in 2003 and the highest proportion of disabled people in 2003-04.

In Northern Ireland in 2003, 17 per cent of 15-year-olds have some teeth missing due to decay. In England the figure is five per cent.

Among the most worrying trends in the report, United Kingdom Health Statistics, was the level of sexually transmitted diseases, which was highest in England. The English rate of gonorrhoea infections in men was more than twice the rate for Scotland and Wales, and the English rate in women was twice the rate for Wales and four times that for Scotland.

Despite a rather poor impression of public health in Scotland, the country had the highest proportion of people taking part in high levels of physical activity, at all ages from 26 onwards.

In the UK, the most common type of health problem reported was arthritis and back pain, affecting about a third of men and women.

One person in seven said they had considered suicide at some point.

Anxiety and depression was suffered by seven per cent of men and 11 per cent of women.

telegraph.co.uk

azzuri

So basically what you are saying is that all us young Scots will have to support the old English cronies and their pensions?

Leathlaobhair

2.8 years of difference isn't very much. And is still higher than life expectancy in much of the rest of the world.