"Beverly Hills 90210." "My So-Called Life." "Veronica Mars." Schools must be one of the most common settings for a TV show, and stories often revolve around who's popular and who isn't. Writers would be lost without the stereotype of the popular jock and the new kid from out of town.

Being high in the school pecking order can seem like a big deal at the time, but I'd always thought that as soon as you'd gone to college and reinvented yourself, it didn't matter any more. It seems I was wrong. New research suggests that children who are popular at school continue to enjoy health advantages well into adult life. In 1966, researchers talked to around 14,000 sixth graders at Swedish schools (the equivalent of seventh grade in the US). The children were asked to nominate the three people they most liked to work with in class. Decades later, researchers looked at hospital records, to see how popularity corresponded with health.

People who'd been picked as a work partner by seven or more classmates (termed "favorites" by the researchers) visited the hospital fewer times between the ages of 20 and 50, compared with their less popular classmates. There was a slight but steady drop off in health, down through "popular" children (four to six picks), "accepted" children (two to three), "peripheral" (one pick), and "marginalized children" (no picks). Some of the strongest links were between lack of popularity and the risk of heart disease or diabetes.