Positive attitude delays ageing

You may not be as young as you feel, but research has found that a positive attitude may delay the ageing process.

The University of Texas found people with an upbeat view of life were less likely than pessimists to show signs of frailty.

The researchers say their findings suggest psychosocial factors - as well as genes and physical health - play a role in how quickly we age.

Their work is published in the journal Psychology and Aging.

The Texas team carried out tests on 1,558 older people from the Mexican American community to examine whether there was a link between positive emotions and the onset of frailty.
The researchers assessed the development of frailty during the study by measuring the participants' weight loss, exhaustion, walking speed and grip strength.

They found that those people who had a positive outlook on life were significantly less likely to become frail.

The researchers said more research is required to pin down why there should be a link.

But they speculate that positive emotions may directly affect health by altering the chemical balance of the body.

Alternatively, it may that an upbeat attitude helps to boost a person's health by making it more likely they will be successful in life.

Lead researcher Dr Glenn Ostir told BBC News Online: "I believe that there is a connection between mind and body - and that our thoughts and attitudes/emotions affect physical functioning, and over all health, whether through direct mechanisms, such as immune function, or indirect mechanisms, such as social support networks."