Who’s Thinner: Owners or Renters?

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A new study from University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School finds that women homeowners are an average of 12 pounds heavier than renters. They’re also more aggravated and spend less time socializing.

Thing is, it’s hard to tell why. Figuring it out, the article notes, presents a chicken-and-egg type problem, since two lines of homeowner reasoning are possible:

a) Now that I’ve gone and bought a house, I may as well make owning my house worthwhile by maxing and relaxing in it as much as humanly possible.

b) I really like maxing and relaxing. Much more than, say, going for a walk with my friends. Gosh, it’d be great to have my very own M&R temple.

Previous studies have shown that homeowners are happier than renters, but they didn’t control for external factors, like whether or not the subjects have kids. This study did.

Have you recently switched from renting to owning or vice versa? What’s it like?

HT @aarieff.

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We just keep seeing it happen: Newsrooms owned by billionaires and corporations are spinning their own narratives, overwriting the truth, following only stories that keep them in the pocket of those with even more power.

Not here. We’re not owned by anyone. We’re not part of any cult that demands our allegiance to a bottom line. We’ve spoken up and spoken out while other newsrooms changed their stories—or cut them altogether—to keep the C suite happy.

Our mission is to find the truth and amplify it. That’s why we’re independent, nonprofit, and, crucially, funded by readers. The investigations on our website will always be free to read, watch, and listen to, but our newsroom is powered by readers who pitch in what they can so we can keep asking the hard questions.

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