"As if being at the bottom of the social pile isn't bad enough, it now seems that it also makes the body's cells age prematurely," reports New Scientist magazine. "People from lower socio-economic groups are more likely to die earlier than people in non-manual jobs from heart attacks, strokes and cancer.

Unhealthy habits such as lack of exercise, excess weight, smoking and poor diet account for around a third of these deaths. Now, a study on white blood cells from 1,552 female twins suggests that cells from women with more menial jobs age faster, even after taking these factors into account.

Time to rethink your career? Accept more job challenges perhaps? Most of us reading this blog likely have great opportunity to work in areas where we can climb the ladder but for those less fortunate this news may be harder to accept. Why should those who work harder and have less, possibly die younger? Doesn’t seem fair at all. As they say, c'est la vie!