Does a bad economy save lives?

emAllure/em magazine has a segment a href=”http://www.allure.com/”in the most recent issue /a called “(Dollar) Signs of the Times” which looked at what’s soaring and what’s plunging in the current fiscal roller coaster. They stated that hemlines, exotic handbags, lipstick, and sex columns are the barometer used to predict the health of the world’s economy. Sounds scientific.br /br /Apparently cosmetic procedures, egg donation, chocolate, slow songs, self-tanner and “mature features” are on the rise. Why the last one, you might ask? According to the magazine, “during recessions, Playboy Playmates have larger waists and waist-to-hip ratios, while actresses tend to have small eyes, large chins, and thin faces, hallmarks of older women.”br /br /What’s on the decline? Lipstick, long hair, sex columns, alcohol, lobster prices, and mortality rates. Allure mentions that sex columns are slowing down as they “seem frivolous” and they mention that the emVillage Voice /emand emPlayboy/em channel have recently eliminated staff sex experts. I guess any future gigs as a sexpert are out for me. Darn… br /br /Anyway, the mortality rate decline was interesting. It seems that a “one-percentage-point rise in unemployment leads to about 14,000 fewer deaths per year. With more time and less money, people eat healthier, smoke less, and exercise more.” br /br /Also in recessions, a href=”http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FExercise-Fitness-Sports-Outdoors%2Fb%3Fie%3DUTF8%26node%3D3407731%26pf%5Frd%5Fp%3D328655101%26pf%5Frd%5Fs%3Dleft-nav-1%26pf%5Frd%5Ft%3D101%26pf%5Frd%5Fi%3D507846%26pf%5Frd%5Fm%3DATVPDKIKX0DER%26pf%5Frd%5Fr%3D10T2B6N7CN5472ZZVY4Rtag=wwwviolentkicomlinkCode=ur2camp=1789creative=9325″prices on exercise equipment get slashed!/aimg src=”http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=wwwviolentkicoml=ur2o=1″ width=”1″ height=”1″ border=”0″ alt=”” style=”border:none !important; margin:0px !important;” / I think I’ll go buy a treadmill.