If, like me, you like to start the weekend with a take-away and general blow-out slumped infront of the TV, then maybe you should know about some new research showing a link watching TV crime shows and obesity. The research study has found that people who are thinking about their own deaths want to eat and shop more. Or at least if you've got low self-esteem. Research involving 746 people in Europe and the US found that death-related news can also make people more patriotic about what brands they buy. This shows that death is good for business, or retail at least.
Obviously there is a big opportunity for cookie manufacturers to book advertising space during TV programmes involving lots of death, but the implication for people with responsibilities for workplace health are more obscure. Perhaps, as well as advising staff to give up smoking and join a gym, we should be warning them about the danger of watching too much of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation or The Bill .
The research, "The Sweet Escape: Effects of Mortality Salience on Consumption Quantities for High- and Low-Self-Esteem Consumers", appears in the Journal of Consumer Research, . For more information email natherton@noirsurblanc.com.