Middle-age is truly depressing, study finds




By Michael Kahn

LONDON (Reuters) - Middle age is truly miserable, according to a study using data from 80 countries showing that depression is most common among men and women in their forties.

The British and U.S. researchers found that happiness for people ranging from Albania to Zimbabwe follows a U-shaped curve where life begins cheerful before turning tough during middle age and then returning to the joys of youth in the golden years.

Previous studies have shown that psychological well-being remained flat throughout life but the new findings to be published in the journal Social Science & Medicine suggest we are in for a topsy-turvy emotional ride.

"In a remarkably regular way throughout the world people slide down a U-shaped level of happiness and mental health throughout their lives," Andrew Oswald at Britain's Warwick University, who co-led the study, said on Tuesday.

The researchers analyzed data on depression, anxiety levels and general mental health and well-being taken from some 2 million people in 80 countries.

U-SHAPED PATTERN

For men and women the probability of depression slowly builds and then peaks when people are in their forties -- a similar pattern found in 72 countries ranging from Albania to Zimbabwe, the researchers said.

About eight nations -- mostly in the developing world -- did not follow the U-shaped pattern for happiness levels, Oswald and his colleague David Blanchflower of Dartmouth College in the United States wrote.

"It happens to men and women, to single and married people, to rich and poor, and to those with and without children," Oswald said. "Nobody knows why we see this consistency."

One possibility may be that people realize they won't achieve many of their aspirations at middle age, the researchers said.

Another reason could be that after seeing their fellow middle-aged peers begin to die, people begin to value their own remaining years and embrace life once more.

But the good news is that if people make it to aged 70 and are still physically fit, they are on average as happy and mentally healthy as a 20-year old.

"For the average persons in the modern world, the dip in mental health and happiness comes on slowly, not suddenly in a single year," Oswald said. "Only in their fifties do people emerge from this low period."

(Reporting by Michael Kahn)

Labels: Life

In managing your finances, keep courage under fire
Advisers say keep funding your 401(k) and cut your credit-card debt
By Robert Daniel, MarketWatch
Last update: 7:46 p.m. EST Jan. 21, 2008
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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- With global markets coming apart and the U.S. set to join the fray on Tuesday, after the Martin Luther King Day holiday, small investors are, rightfully, wondering what they should do.
The answers, financial advisers say, include resisting the urge to sell into the tidal wave, continue funding 401(k) accounts, and paying down credit-card debt.
"If you're going to invest in stocks, this kind of volatility comes with the territory," says Greg McBride, senior financial analyst at Bankrate.com in North Palm Beach, Fla.
"If you live in Wisconsin, you've got to expect subzero temperatures now and then. If you invest in the markets, you have to expect a bumpy ride, especially when the economy is slowing."
A key point that advisers make right now: Don't follow the market into the tank.
"Unfortunately, the way the human psyche works is that we want to buy when everyone else is buying," says Sheryl Garrett, a certified financial planner and the founder of Garrett Planning Network in Shawnee Mission, Kan. "That's not the way to make money. Go against the grain and you'll make a whole lot more."
At the same time, Garrett and McBride offer a number of specific steps to help investors protect themselves going forward.
Both strongly recommend that investors continue funding their 401(k) retirement accounts.
"Most small investors participate in the market through something like a 401(k), making regular contributions every payday," McBride says.
"Embrace the volatility" -- which means continue these contributions, he says. "This volatility means you're getting better value with this contribution than you did the previous payday. You're buying more shares with the same amount of money. Compounded over 20 or 30 years, that could mean a significant difference in return. Now is not the time to head for the hills."
Garrett says that if investors have additional cash available, and they qualify based on income level, they should also take out a Roth IRA account.
One prospect: If you've got a tax refund for 2007 coming, "hurry and file and you'll get it quick," she says.
Take that extra cash and put it into a Roth IRA. "You don't get a tax deduction when the money goes into the account," but at retirement, the money is 100% is tax free.
If you're under 50, you can put a maximum of $4,000 into a Roth IRA this year; if you're over 50, the maximum is $5,000, Garrett says.
If you don't have the maximum, put in "whatever you can scrape together," she says. "It's the eighth or ninth wonder of the world, and people don't recognize it," she says.
Volatile market or no, McBride advises ensuring that your portfolio mix is aligned with your investment goals and your ability to tolerate risk.
"The biggest risk for small investors" is that they may have "an overweight position in emerging international markets," he says. "These have had several years of blockbuster returns, and valuations have gotten quite high. Many investors may notice their portfolios are more tilted in that direction than they were just a couple of years ago."
Likewise, "perhaps you're under-allocated toward domestic value stocks," he says. "Growth stocks have outpaced value stocks over the past couple of years. So the balance may have been knocked askew. Now is an opportune time to restore that balance."
Garrett also suggests additional protective steps aside from those directly tied to the markets.
She says paying off credit cards is a good use of cash that you have on hand. "This is a great time to get rid of credit-card debt," she says. "It's high-interest [debt], you can't deduct [the interest], and it puts more pressure on the cash you have to work with."
In addition, if you're employed, Garrett says, take out a home-equity line of credit -- but she emphasizes that this funding is to be drawn on only in dire emergencies.
"If you lose your job, you can use it," she says. "But if you don't have a job, you can't get" this kind of credit, so she advises taking out this kind of credit line while you can and leaving it available.
To avoid reaching that point, Garrett says, "Make sure that you do everything within your power to keep your job. It's your No. 1 asset. Oftentimes we don't give it the care we should."
She says that it's worth spending some money taking a class or taking a client out to lunch.
"Those with most flexible and marketable skills are the ones who'll be able to earn a paycheck," she notes. "We get so wrapped up in our investments that we forget that we are the money-making machine. Keep it oiled and keep the boss happy."
Through it all, Garrett says, "Continue to have faith. Markets have their cycles and we're going through one. This is not the beginning of the end." End of Story
Robert Daniel is MarketWatch's Middle East bureau chief, based in Tel Aviv.

Labels: stocks

Companies Rewarding Workers' Healthy Habits
Workers Get Cash For Eating Better, Having Kids Eat Healthy


NEW YORK (CBS) ― How's this for incentive to stick to your new year's resolutions: cold hard cash. Many companies are offering a little extra in your paycheck to help you shed the pounds.

Not only does Stefanie Chiras' company pay her to develop computer memory sub-systems, but a little extra to eat right.

"Having work sponsor it makes you kind of feel like someone is buying into It," said Chiras. "And then certainly the cash at the end of the day is an incentive."

Chiras works for IBM. She gets an additional $150 in her paycheck for tracking her eating habits online and losing weight.

"When I reach for that next unhealthy thing, I think, oh, but I have to log it in to the tool."

IBM launched its voluntary wellness incentive program four years ago – handing each employee up to $300 a year for completing healthy eating, exercise and preventative care programs.

Health care bills for corporate America are skyrocketing. Each year, IBM spends about $2 billion globally, and obese workers are driving up the cost.

Researchers say offering cash incentives to employees is actually a low-cost way to motivate them to cut out the fat and get on the treadmill.

Eric Finkelstein, author 'The Fattening of America', said, "It is essentially costless for the firm. If nobody loses any weight then they don't spend any money."

So many IBM employees have lost weight, stopped smoking or otherwise improved their health that the company has paid out $130 million, but it's saving about three times as much.

This year, IBM also plans to give workers money if their children develop healthier eating habits.

Dr. Paul Grundy, director of Strategic Initiatives at IBM, told CBS: "Frankly speaking, we don't know why everybody wouldn't do this because it really does make a great deal of sense."

Chiras credits the company policy with getting her back into shape after having a baby a year and a half ago. She says she'll spend some of her extra cash to take her daughter on her first trip to the zoo.

As part of it's wellness program, most IBM medical options cover routine preventive services at 100 percent if it's done "in-network."