Do you ever stop to pick up every single penny on the ground, hoping that it will bring you good luck? Or think twice about walking under a ladder and run the other way if you see a black cat crossing the road? Well, a new study has just discovered that this belief in luck and superstition is actually linked to living an unhealthy lifestyle!
That's right, all of those good-luck-and-bad-luck beliefs may actually be helping you back on the pounds! Wait, WHAT?!
Read more ¿Qué más? Want to know what's really making us fat?
According to the researchers at the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, people that believe in luck are more likely to live unhealthy lifestyles because they believe that life is a set of random occurrences over which they have absolutely no control, according to Jezebel.com.
However, those of us that are a little more skeptical tend to be healthier because we have a strong sense of willpower and frit, explains director of the Melbourne Institute Deborah Cobb-Clark, and it's important to understand that "information alone is insufficient to change people's eating habits." In fact, she says, "understanding the psychological underpinning of a person's eating patterns and exercise habits is central to understanding obesity."
Read more ¿Qué más? Could you not eat for 12 hours to burn more fat?
I can definitely understand what they mean. I know that more than once I've blamed my genetics for my bad luck in being an overweight kid and an obese adult before I finally underwent a gastric bypass to lose weight. I mean, it's true: I do put on weight easier than a lot of other people I know, but it's also that self-defeatist attitude that kept the numbers on the scale increasing instead of decreasing.
So next time you find yourself picking up a penny for good luck, why not jog in place for a few minutes instead? Clearly all that superstition isn't going to get us anywhere if we don't put in the effort first.
Image via chriscom/flickr
