Academy Award nominees who go home empty-handed may not have a shiny Oscar to show off, but they may turn out to be the bigger winners in the game of life.

    According to a study published in British Medical Journal on December 21, Oscar-winning screenwriters are more successful, more productive, and more respected than losing nominees; however, they die sooner by about four years.

    Because success is usually linked to better health, "this is the first occupation ever that success is not associated with improved longevity," says Donald Redelmeier, lead author of the study.

    Researchers tracked down information about every person who was ever nominated for an Oscar since the awards were first handed out 73 years ago.

    To explain the puzzling findings, he offers two theories. The first is the "work-to-death hypothesis."

    According to Redelmeier, screenwriters are more apt to lead unhealthy lifestyles, meaning they smoke more, exercise less, and work a lot of late-night hours, which translates into not enough sleep.

    Screenwriters don't have a boss to report to, which brings into account Redelmeier's second explanation, the "party-hearty hypothesis."

    "When you become a successful screenwriter, you gain status without daily accountability, and as a consequence your success may lead you to more alcohol, more parties, and more obesity," he says.

    Redelmeier hopes his study will stress how important it is to lead a healthy lifestyle.

    "The bottom line," he says, "is that greater success may sometimes lead to worse health if people fail to look after themselves."

    雖然奧斯卡頒獎典禮上空手而歸的編劇們沒有機會像風光的獲獎者們一樣，手捧金燦燦的獎杯向人們炫耀一番，但是"塞翁失馬，焉知非福"，他們可能會成為現實生活的大贏家！

    12月21日發表的《英國醫學雜志》上刊登的一項研究成果表明，最終獲得奧斯卡獎的編劇們比僅獲提名的同行們在事業上更加成功，更加多產，更加受人尊敬，但是他們的壽命平均比后者短大約4年。

    該研究報告的主筆唐納德·雷德梅爾說："通常身體健康和事業有成總是緊密聯系在一起的，但編劇的職業則例外，它是我們發現的第一種在工作中成功與健康并沒有聯系的職業。"

    研究者對73年來所有曾獲奧斯卡提名的人進行了跟蹤調查。

    為了進一步解釋這一出人意料的研究發現，雷德梅爾提出了兩個理論。第一個理論是"鞠躬盡瘁論（work-to-death hypothesis）"。

    雷德梅爾說，劇本編劇們通常生活方式并不健康，他們煙癮很大，缺乏運動，經常工作到深夜，睡眠不足。

    由于編劇這個職業工作時間比較自由，因此雷德梅爾提出了第二個理論"派對過量論（party-hearty hypothesis）"。 他說："當你成為一名成功的編劇后，你的社會地位將不斷提高，工作量也開始不固定，應酬驟然增加，成功意味著你要喝更多的酒，出席更多的宴會，增加更多的贅肉。"

    雷德梅爾希望他的這項研究能夠引起人們對健康的生活方式的重視。他說："最后，我想告訴大家，在你們邁向事業成功的道路上一定要照顧好自己，否則成功將成為影響健康的殺手。"