Washington, Dec 24 : People with an eye to the future are likely to be more health conscious as they exercise and are less prone to smoking and drinking, says a new study.

"If you are more willing to pick later, larger rewards rather than taking the immediate payoff, you are more future-minded than present-minded," said James Daugherty, Kansas State University (KSU) doctoral student in psychology who led the study.

Daugherty conducted the research with Gary Brase, a KSU associate professor. They had subjects - college students, averaging 19 years in age - answer surveys about whether they think in the short term or the long term.

"College students tend to be more future-minded by definition because they go to college rather than get a job right out of high school," Brase said.

One survey asked cognitive psychology questions like "Would you prefer $35 today or $45 in 35 days?" The other surveys used two types of social psychology methods.

These included having the subjects rate the extent to which they agree with statements like "I am willing to sacrifice my immediate happiness or well-being in order to achieve future outcomes".

Daugherty and Brase found that subjects who gave future-minded answers in initial surveys were more likely to report healthy behaviours in the latter survey. This could impact how people deal with negative health behaviours, said a KSU release.

"There is a lot of potential for helping people make better health decisions," Brase said.

The research will appear in the January issue of Personality and Individual Differences.(IANS)