WHAT YOU FANCY DOES YOU GOOD

SMOKERS and drinkers who do not reproach themselves enjoy better health
than their counterparts who feel guilty about their "vices".

Psychologists have found that people who rate their pleasures highly are
more likely to report better health, whereas those with more guilt feelings
seem more susceptible to illness.

People who said they felt guilty about eating, drinking and substance
pleasures, including smoking, are more likely to visit the doctor and
report bouts of the flu. But those with high ratings of pleasure went to
the doctor less and re-ported fewer episodes of heart trouble.

Dr Geoff Lowe and Rebecca Crook, of Hull University, told the British
Psychological Society's annual conference in Brighton yesterday that the
ratio of guilt to pleasure may influence health and illness, possibly
through stress-enhancing and stress-relieving effects.

They questioned 302 people about their health and lifestyle. The
respondents, mainly aged 18-30, also listed their pleasures and rated the
pleasure and guilt for each behaviour.

Overall, most reported a higher pleasure than guilt rating although some
activities classed as pleasures scored more highly on the guilt scale.
Watching Neighbours, for example, produced a maximum pleasure rating of six
(on a scale of one to ten) but the maximum guilt score of ten. Singing and
laughing both scored highly on pleasure with no guilt.

But food was much more ambiguous. Eating chocolate scored higher on the
guilt than pleasure rating (although it was high on both), eating junk food
was slightly more pleasurable (eight) than guilt inducing (five) while
eating out was uniformly higher on pleasure.

Sex was largely pleasurable, with many ten out of ten scores, with low
guilt rating. But people who reported higher guilt feelings about sex were
likely to report more headaches and flu.

Drinking alcohol was not clear-cut, with some people finding it more likely
to cause enjoyment rather than self approach.

The same was true of smoking, although cannabis users reported lots of
pleasure and little guilt.

Shopping was also ambiguous with some people giving it a ten out of ten
score for both guilt and pleasure.

People rated sleep as largely pleasurable with little guilt as a side
effect, but sleeping in was more likely to cause people to feel bad.

Gossiping with friends caused more guilt with a rating of six than flirting
which was guilt-free in the people who reported it as a pleasure.

Reading scored only a pleasure rating of six as opposed to a guilt rating
of four, while reading magazines was seen as highly pleasurable with a
maximum ten out of ten score.

Dr Lowe said: "It is possible that pleasure can enhance health. But the
pleasure rating must clearly outweigh the associated guilt levels."

He said that guilt was necessary to turn us off pleasures which could be
harmful to health, for example, smoking.

But he added: "If people smoke and they get a lot of pleasure from smoking
then the theory would be that they would be less adversely
affected. If they smoke and feel guilty about it, that is a double whammy."

He said, however, that guilt which was strong enough to stop people smoking
was a better strategy for health.

"It would be true to say that enjoying yourself does you good. Other
studies have shown that if you enjoy things it can help immune functions.

"People who engage in fun and laughter have enhanced immune systems."