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."

    虽然奥斯卡颁奖典礼上空手而归的编剧们没有机会像风光的获奖者们一样，手捧金灿灿的奖杯向人们炫耀一番，但是"塞翁失马，焉知非福"，他们可能会成为现实生活的大赢家！

    12月21日发表的《英国医学杂志》上刊登的一项研究成果表明，最终获得奥斯卡奖的编剧们比仅获提名的同行们在事业上更加成功，更加多产，更加受人尊敬，但是他们的寿命平均比后者短大约4年。

    该研究报告的主笔唐纳德·雷德梅尔说："通常身体健康和事业有成总是紧密联系在一起的，但编剧的职业则例外，它是我们发现的第一种在工作中成功与健康并没有联系的职业。"

    研究者对73年来所有曾获奥斯卡提名的人进行了跟踪调查。

    为了进一步解释这一出人意料的研究发现，雷德梅尔提出了两个理论。第一个理论是"鞠躬尽瘁论（work-to-death hypothesis）"。

    雷德梅尔说，剧本编剧们通常生活方式并不健康，他们烟瘾很大，缺乏运动，经常工作到深夜，睡眠不足。

    由于编剧这个职业工作时间比较自由，因此雷德梅尔提出了第二个理论"派对过量论（party-hearty hypothesis）"。 他说："当你成为一名成功的编剧后，你的社会地位将不断提高，工作量也开始不固定，应酬骤然增加，成功意味着你要喝更多的酒，出席更多的宴会，增加更多的赘肉。"

    雷德梅尔希望他的这项研究能够引起人们对健康的生活方式的重视。他说："最后，我想告诉大家，在你们迈向事业成功的道路上一定要照顾好自己，否则成功将成为影响健康的杀手。"